Two years ago Shirley Michels of St. Louis found herself getting up earlier and earlier, and going to bed later and later,just to meet everyday demands. The wife, mother and ophthalmic technician met her responsibilities, but lacked time for the things that mattered most.
两年前，居住在圣路易斯州的雪莉蜜雪儿发现自己起早贪黑，却刚刚解决温饱问题，不论是作为妻子、母亲，还是眼科医生，她都尽职尽责，但她却根本没有闲暇时间做些更重要的事情。
She and her husband, Vic, an attorney, began searching for ways to simplify their lives. "We had to decide what was really important . " says Shirley. They knew they wanted more time to play with their three-year-old son, Ryan, to exercise and eat right, and to nurture friendships.
他和做律师的丈夫维克开始想办法使生活简单化，雪莉说:“我们得决定什么才是生活中最重要的”，他们知道自己想找出更多时间同三岁的儿子瑞安多待会儿，哪怕做些运动，让他吃好，从而培养他们之间的感情。
So the couple chose to live more modestly, shopping with care for necessities and enjoying inexpensive pleasures such as reading, cooking and going to the park. Shirley quit her job and began working part time from home. She printed up business cards that read "At your service buy yourself a li ttle time" and hired herself out for personal tasks such as shopping, paying bills, organizing parties, doing Internet research whatever clients needed.
于是，这对夫妻选择了一种更简约的生活方式，只买生活必需品，享受些不太奢侈的娱乐，如阅读、烹调、逛公园。雪莉辞掉了原来的工作，在家做些兼职工作，比如说代人购物、付款、组织聚会、做网上客户需要的互联网调查等等。她在商业名片上印上“为您服务，省您时间”这样的语句。
"I still work hard, but being able to control my hours makes all the difference." She says." I can carve out time to take my son to the zoo or play basketball with him. My stress headaches are gone. Having a chance to get to know neighbors not only has been fun, but it's also helped us further simplify.”
她说:“我仍然在努力工作，但现在能够自己掌控时间，这和以前截然不同了。我能抽出一些时间带儿子去动物园，和他一起玩玩篮球。以前由于压力过大造成的头疼病消失了。腾出时间去拜访邻居，不仅给生活带来了乐趣，而且还有助于使我的生活变得更加简单化。”
According to trend watchers, the Michelses are far from alone in wanting to slow down and live a more satisfying life. A Gallup Poll found that half of all Americans claim they lack enough time to do what they want. 54 percent of parents say they spend too little time with their children, and 47 percent of married couples complain that they lack time together.
根据时尚观察家的分析，“米雪儿们”并非单单想放慢生活的节奏，过一种更舒坦的生活。盖洛普民意测验显示有一半美国人说他们缺少足够的时间来做真正想做的事情。54%的家长说他们和孩子呆在一起的时间太少了。47%的已婚夫妇抱怨她们很少有时间在一起。
Where does the time go? For most people, work and commuting dominate the day. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, one out of five of us put in 49 or more hours a week on the job; one out of 12 logged 60 hours or more. Then there's the rich fast food of modern life, so much information to sift through, so many products beckoning." We're wearing ourselves out trying to have it all." says Elaine St. James, author of Living the Simple Life.
现在生活是五颜六色的，快餐如此丰盛，信息如此膨胀，等着你去筛选，还有那么多的产品吸引着我们。《过一种简单生活》的作者伊莱恩·圣·詹姆斯说，:“为了拥有这一切我们已经疲力竭了。”
Simplifying means becoming aware of the ways, big and small, that we expend money, time and energy, and then raking steps to curb the waste. Then we have to gain control over life's hassles in order to have time for the pleasures.
生活简单化就意味着要我们留意花费的金钱、时间和精力以及大大小小的事情，然后采取措施避免浪费。与其在生活中为了琐事争吵，不如省出时间来娱乐一番。
