Where Is Home? | Pico Iyer | TED

翻译人员: Yu Wang 校对人员: Coco Shen

Where do you come from?

你从哪里来？

It's such a simple question,

这是一个很简单的问题，

but these days, of course, simple questions

但是现今，简单的问题

bring ever more complicated answers.

会带来相对复杂的答案。

People are always asking me where I come from,

人们总是问我，我从哪里来，

and they're expecting me to say India,

并且期待我说出“印度”二字，

and they're absolutely right insofar as 100 percent

他们的期待是完全正确的，

of my blood and ancestry does come from India.

因为我有百分百的印度血统，我的祖先也确实来自印度。

Except, I've never lived one day of my life there.

只不过，我从来没有在印度生活过。

I can't speak even one word

在超过22，000种印度方言中

of its more than 22,000 dialects.

我甚至一个字都不会讲。

So I don't think I've really earned the right

所以我不认为

to call myself an Indian.

我有资格称得上是印度人。

And if "Where do you come from?"

如果“你从哪里来？”

means "Where were you born and raised and educated?"

与“你在哪里出生，成长，受教育”意思等同，

then I'm entirely of that funny little country

那么我是彻头彻尾的一个 可爱的小国家的人，

known as England,

它叫英国，

except I left England as soon as I completed

只不过在我完成了大学的学业后

my undergraduate education,

我离开了英国，

and all the time I was growing up,

在我成长期间，

I was the only kid in all my classes

我是班上唯一一个孩子

who didn't begin to look like the classic English heroes

不去模仿在我们的教科书上所展现的

represented in our textbooks.

经典的英国英雄。

And if "Where do you come from?"

如果“你来自哪里？”

means "Where do you pay your taxes?

与“你在哪里缴税？

Where do you see your doctor and your dentist?"

你去哪里找牙医，去哪里就诊？”意思相同，

then I'm very much of the United States,

那么我是地地道道的美国人，

and I have been for 48 years now,

从我孩童时代到现在，

since I was a really small child.

我在这儿生活了48个年头了。

Except, for many of those years,

只不过其中几年，

I've had to carry around this funny little pink card

我需要携带这张有趣的小粉红卡，

with green lines running through my face

照片上的我脸上有一条条绿色线条

identifying me as a permanent alien.

证明我是一名有永久居住权的 外籍居民。

I do actually feel more alien the longer I live there.

在这儿生活得越久 我就感觉自己是一名外星人。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And if "Where do you come from?"

假如“你从哪里来？”

means "Which place goes deepest inside you

与“你对哪个地方印象最深，

and where do you try to spend most of your time?"

你最想在哪里长久地待下去？”意思相同，

then I'm Japanese,

那么我就成了日本人，

because I've been living as much as I can

因为过去25年，

for the last 25 years in Japan.

我尽可能地居住在日本。

Except, all of those years I've been there on a tourist visa,

只不过那些年我凭借着旅游签证入境的，

and I'm fairly sure not many Japanese

而且我也肯定没有多少日本人

would want to consider me one of them.

愿意接纳我为他们的一员。

And I say all this just to stress

我说这些只是强调

how very old-fashioned and straightforward

我的人生背景有多么的

my background is,

老派和真率，

because when I go to Hong Kong or Sydney or Vancouver,

因为当我去香港，悉尼或是温哥华，

most of the kids I meet

大多数我遇见的孩子

are much more international and multi-cultured than I am.

比我更国际化，也比我更富有多元文化。

And they have one home associated with their parents,

他们有一个和父母共同生活的家园，

but another associated with their partners,

另有一个和伙伴共同玩耍的乐园，

a third connected maybe with the place where they happen to be,

第三个家是也许是他们碰巧待的地方，

a fourth connected with the place they dream of being,

第四个是他们的梦想乐土，

and many more besides.

或许还有更多。

And their whole life will be spent taking pieces

他们的全部生活将会是

of many different places and putting them together

收集不同地方的生活小碎片并

into a stained glass whole.

把它们拼成一整块彩色玻璃。

Home for them is really a work in progress.

对他们来说，家是一项进行着的工作。

It's like a project on which they're constantly adding

那就像一项工程，

upgrades and improvements and corrections.

他们不断地将它更新，完善，修正。

And for more and more of us,

对大多数人来说，

home has really less to do with a piece of soil

用情感铸成的家

than, you could say, with a piece of soul.

远比用泥土铸成的家吸引人。

If somebody suddenly asks me, "Where's your home?"

如果有人突然问我，“你家在哪里？”

I think about my sweetheart or my closest friends

我会想到我的心肝宝贝或是我的死党

or the songs that travel with me wherever I happen to be.

或是那首陪伴我四处旅行的歌曲。

And I'd always felt this way,

我一直有这种感觉，

but it really came home to me, as it were,

但那是我对家真正的感受。

some years ago when I was climbing up the stairs

数年前，我在加州的父母家

in my parents' house in California,

爬楼梯时

and I looked through the living room windows

通过客厅的窗户远眺，

and I saw that we were encircled by 70-foot flames,

我看到我们被70英尺高的火焰包围，

one of those wildfires that regularly tear through

加州的野火就会像

the hills of California and many other such places.

这样窜上一个山丘或其他地方。

And three hours later, that fire had reduced

3个小时后，那场大火

my home and every last thing in it

把我们的家和家里的一切

except for me to ash.

燃烧成了灰烬。只有我幸免于难。

And when I woke up the next morning,

第二天早晨，当我醒过来时，

I was sleeping on a friend's floor,

我躺在朋友家的地板上，

the only thing I had in the world was a toothbrush

我唯一拥有的只有一把牙刷了，

I had just bought from an all-night supermarket.

那还是我刚刚从24小时营业的超市买来的。

Of course, if anybody asked me then,

当然，如果当时有任何人问我，

"Where is your home?"

“你的家在哪里？”

I literally couldn't point to any physical construction.

我根本无法指向任何建筑物。

My home would have to be whatever I carried around inside me.

我的家只能存在于我的心里了。

And in so many ways, I think this is a terrific liberation.

在许多方面来说，我认为那是一次极好的解放。

Because when my grandparents were born,

因为当我的祖父母出生时，

they pretty much had their sense of home,

他们就有家的归属感，

their sense of community, even their sense of enmity,

他们就有社区的归属感， 就有阵营的归属感，开始憎恶敌人，

assigned to them at birth,

这些都随着他们的出生而决定，

and didn't have much chance of stepping outside of that.

并且没有太多机会跨出这个生活圈。

And nowadays, at least some of us can choose our sense of home,

而现今，至少一部分人可以选择 自己对家庭的归属感，

create our sense of community,

创建对社区的归属感，

fashion our sense of self, and in so doing

塑造自我形象，

maybe step a little beyond

这样做了之后

some of the black and white divisions

我们不再像祖辈们那样

of our grandparents' age.

有鲜明的黑白对立了。

No coincidence that the president

世界上最强大国家的总统

of the strongest nation on Earth is half-Kenyan,

有一半的肯尼亚血统也不再是巧合了，

partly raised in Indonesia,

曾在印度尼西亚成长过，

has a Chinese-Canadian brother-in-law.

有一个加拿大籍的华裔妹夫。

The number of people living in countries not their own

现在有近2亿2千万的人

now comes to 220 million,

居住在这儿而不是他们的故乡，

and that's an almost unimaginable number,

那是一个难以想象的数字，

but it means that if you took the whole population of Canada

那意味着，如果把加拿大的总人口和

and the whole population of Australia

澳大利亚的总人口相加，

and then the whole population of Australia again

并再次加上澳大利亚的人口

and the whole population of Canada again

和加拿大的人口，

and doubled that number,

然后再把它乘以二得到的数字，

you would still have fewer people than belong

仍然比“流动部落”的

to this great floating tribe.

人数要少。

And the number of us who live outside

那些没有生活在自己的祖国的

the old nation-state categories is increasing so quickly,

居民人数正在飞速增长，

by 64 million just in the last 12 years,

最近十二年间了增长了6千4百万，

that soon there will be more of us than there are Americans.

不久像我们这样的居民人数 就要超过美国本土居民。

Already, we represent the fifth-largest nation on Earth.

我们已经开始代表着世界上第五大国家。

And in fact, in Canada's largest city, Toronto,

事实上，在加拿大最大的城市 多伦多，

the average resident today is what used to be called

大多数的居民在过去

a foreigner, somebody born in a very different country.

被视为外国人。

And I've always felt that the beauty of being surrounded by the foreign

而且我一直认为生活在外国人中的美妙之处

is that it slaps you awake.

是他们会把沉睡中的你拍醒。

You can't take anything for granted.

你不能把所以事情当成理所当然。

Travel, for me, is a little bit like being in love,

对于我来说，旅行和恋爱有一丝相像，

because suddenly all your senses are at the setting marked "on."

因为你所有的感官都会处于“开”的状态。

Suddenly you're alert to the secret patterns of the world.

突然间你开始留意世界的神秘之处。

The real voyage of discovery, as Marcel Proust famously said,

“真正的发现之旅，”正如马塞尔·普鲁斯特的名言， （注：鸿篇巨著《追忆似水年华》作者）

consists not in seeing new sights,

“不在于观赏新的风景，

but in looking with new eyes.

而在于欣赏风景的眼光。”

And of course, once you have new eyes,

当然，一旦你有全新的眼光，

even the old sights, even your home

即使是过往风景，即使是你的家园

become something different.

也会变得独一无二。

Many of the people living in countries not their own

许多在异国他乡生活的人们是难民，

are refugees who never wanted to leave home

他们从未想离开家园，

and ache to go back home.

一直渴望回到故乡。

But for the fortunate among us,

但是，对我们之中的幸运儿来说，

I think the age of movement brings exhilarating new possibilities.

漂泊的年代带来了 令人振奋的新的可能。

Certainly when I'm traveling,

毫无疑问，当我在

especially to the major cities of the world,

世界上各大城市间穿梭时，

the typical person I meet today

我遇见的典型的人

will be, let's say, a half-Korean, half-German young woman

可能是，生活在巴黎的

living in Paris.

韩德混血的年轻女孩。

And as soon as she meets a half-Thai,

一旦她遇见了

half-Canadian young guy from Edinburgh,

来自爱丁堡的泰加混血的年轻男孩，

she recognizes him as kin.

她就会把他视为同类。

She realizes that she probably has much more in common with him

她意识到和韩国人和德国人相比，

than with anybody entirely of Korea or entirely of Germany.

他们俩有更多的相似之处。

So they become friends. They fall in love.

因此他们成为朋友，接着他们坠入爱河。

They move to New York City.

他们搬到纽约。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Or Edinburgh.

或是爱丁堡。

And the little girl who arises out of their union

而他们的女儿

will of course be not Korean or German

很显然不会是韩国人或德国人

or French or Thai or Scotch or Canadian

或法国人、泰国人、苏格兰人、加拿大人，

or even American, but a wonderful

甚至也不是美国人，而是一个

and constantly evolving mix of all those places.

融合了这些国家的美好结晶。

And potentially, everything about the way

这位美丽的女孩

that young woman dreams about the world,

梦想世界的方式，

writes about the world, thinks about the world,

书写世界的方式，思考世界的方式，

could be something different,

都可能会为世界带来些许改变，

because it comes out of this almost unprecedented

因为这些思想来自

blend of cultures.

前所未有的文化大融合。

Where you come from now is much less important

当今“你要去哪里”

than where you're going.

远远比“你来自哪里”重要。

More and more of us are rooted in the future

相较于守护过去，

or the present tense as much as in the past.

我们越来越扎根于未来或当下。

And home, we know, is not just the place

而且家已经不仅仅是

where you happen to be born.

你出生的地方了。

It's the place where you become yourself.

家是你找到自我的地方。

And yet,

然而，

there is one great problem with movement,

一个巨大的问题伴随着人口迁徙而来，

and that is that it's really hard to get your bearings

那就是当你居无定所时，

when you're in midair.

你很难找到自己的方向。

Some years ago, I noticed that I had accumulated

几年前，我意识到我在联合航空公司

one million miles on United Airlines alone.

已经积累了1百万英里的里程了。

You all know that crazy system,

你也知道那个疯狂的体制，

six days in hell, you get the seventh day free.

六天生活在地狱，才得到第七天的惬意。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And I began to think that really,

我开始思考

movement was only as good as the sense of stillness

当“动”和“静”被放在一起观察时，

that you could bring to it to put it into perspective.

它们二者才是同样美好的。

And eight months after my house burned down,

在我家被烧毁的八个月后，

I ran into a friend who taught at a local high school,

我遇见了一位在当地高中教书的朋友，

and he said, "I've got the perfect place for you."

他对我说，“我找了一个适合你的绝佳场所。”

"Really?" I said. I'm always a bit skeptical

“真的吗？”我问道。当人们这样说时，

when people say things like that.

我总会有一丝怀疑。

"No, honestly," he went on,

“坦诚地讲，并非这样。”他继续说，

"it's only three hours away by car,

“到那里坐车只要3小时，

and it's not very expensive,

而且价钱也不高,

and it's probably not like anywhere you've stayed before."

那里与你居住过的地方很可能都不同。”

"Hmm." I was beginning to get slightly intrigued. "What is it?"

“嗯。”我开始有一点被吸引了，“在哪里？”

"Well —" Here my friend hemmed and hawed —

”嗯--“我朋友欲言又止，

"Well, actually it's a Catholic hermitage."

”事实上那是一座天主教堂。“

This was the wrong answer.

那不是一个适合我的好去处。

I had spent 15 years in Anglican schools,

过去我在英国教会学校待了15年，

so I had had enough hymnals and crosses to last me a lifetime.

所以我唱了足够多的赞美诗，划了足够多的十字， 足以祝福我一生了。

Several lifetimes, actually.

其实是好几辈子。

But my friend assured me that he wasn't Catholic,

但是我朋友向我保证他不是一名天主教徒，

nor were most of his students,

他教的大部分学生也不是，

but he took his classes there every spring.

但每年春季他都会带学生去那儿。

And as he had it, even the most restless, distractible,

正如他所说，即使是最好动的，最容易分心，

testosterone-addled 15-year-old Californian boy

荷尔蒙失调的15岁加州男孩，

only had to spend three days in silence

只要在那里花三天时间静一静，

and something in him cooled down and cleared out.

就能得到内在的平和与净化。

He found himself.

他找到了自我。

And I thought, "Anything that works for a 15-year-old boy

我思忖着，”对15岁男孩管用的东西

ought to work for me."

也应该对我管用。”

So I got in my car, and I drove three hours north

因此我跳进汽车，

along the coast,

沿着海岸线行驶了三个小时，

and the roads grew emptier and narrower,

道路变得越来越狭窄和空旷，

and then I turned onto an even narrower path,

之后我转进了一条更窄的小道，

barely paved, that snaked for two miles

仅仅有路的形状，在那里蜿蜒行驶了两英里

up to the top of a mountain.

直到山顶。

And when I got out of my car,

我下车后，

the air was pulsing.

空气像脉动般流淌。

The whole place was absolutely silent,

整个环境是绝对的清净，

but the silence wasn't an absence of noise.

但是寂静不是鸦雀无声。

It was really a presence of a kind of energy or quickening.

那真是活力和朝气的象征。

And at my feet was the great, still blue plate

我脚下是浩瀚静谧的

of the Pacific Ocean.

太平洋。

All around me were 800 acres of wild dry brush.

我周围是800英亩的大荒野。

And I went down to the room in which I was to be sleeping.

我往下走到住宿处。

Small but eminently comfortable,

那里狭小却格外舒适，

it had a bed and a rocking chair

有一张床，一张摇椅

and a long desk and even longer picture windows

还有一张长书桌和一个更长的落地窗

looking out on a small, private, walled garden,

面对这一个私人的小花园

and then 1,200 feet of golden pampas grass

和1200英尺的潘帕斯草原

running down to the sea.

直冲向大海。

And I sat down, and I began to write,

我坐了下来，开始写东西，

and write, and write,

写啊写啊，

even though I'd gone there really to get away from my desk.

即使我来这儿的本意是远离我的书桌。

And by the time I got up, four hours had passed.

当我搁笔时，已经过去了4个小时。

Night had fallen,

黑夜降临，

and I went out under this great overturned saltshaker of stars,

我走进漫天繁星的夜空之下，

and I could see the tail lights of cars

看着汽车的尾灯

disappearing around the headlands 12 miles to the south.

消失在12英里外的南边海角中。

And it really seemed like my concerns of the previous day

我前一天的担忧

vanishing.

似乎消失无踪。

And the next day, when I woke up

第二天，我在没有

in the absence of telephones and TVs and laptops,

电话，电视和电脑的世界中醒来，

the days seemed to stretch for a thousand hours.

每天的时光似乎延长到了1000个小时。

It was really all the freedom I know when I'm traveling,

这是我在旅行时体验到的真正的自由，

but it also profoundly felt like coming home.

但那也使我深深地感觉到我回家了。

And I'm not a religious person,

我没有宗教信仰，

so I didn't go to the services.

所以我没有举行宗教仪式，

I didn't consult the monks for guidance.

我向僧侣们寻求指引。

I just took walks along the monastery road

我仅仅是沿着寺院的道路走着

and sent postcards to loved ones.

向我的挚爱寄去明信片。

I looked at the clouds,

我仰望白云，

and I did what is hardest of all for me to do usually,

我做了对我来说最困难时的事情，

which is nothing at all.

那就是什么也不做。

And I started to go back to this place,

我开始往回走，

and I noticed that I was doing my most important work there

我意识到我在这里做着最重要的工作——

invisibly just by sitting still,

静静地坐着，

and certainly coming to my most critical decisions

面对我最重要的抉择

the way I never could when I was racing

用一种 我在电邮和下一个预约之间

from the last email to the next appointment.

奔走着的生活 中所体验不到的方式。

And I began to think that something in me

我感觉到我身体内有东西

had really been crying out for stillness,

一直渴望着这份平静，

but of course I couldn't hear it

但我不可能听见它的呼喊，

因为平时我四处奔波。

because I was running around so much.

I was like some crazy guy who puts on a blindfold

我就像那些眼上蒙着布条

and then complains that he can't see a thing.

却一直抱怨自己看不见的疯狂人一样。

And I thought back to that wonderful phrase

我想到了那句从一位塞内卡男孩

I had learned as a boy from Seneca,

男孩那里学到的话，

in which he says, "That man is poor

他说，”那些明明拥有很多却贪婪的人

not who has little but who hankers after more."

比拥有很少的人更加贫穷。”

And, of course, I'm not suggesting

当然，我不是建议

that anybody here go into a monastery.

在座的各位都去那座寺院。

That's not the point.

那不是重点。

But I do think it's only by stopping movement

但是我始终认为只有停下脚步

that you can see where to go.

我们才能看见未来的路途。

And it's only by stepping out of your life and the world

只有暂时跨出你的生活圈

that you can see what you most deeply care about

和你在意的大千世界，

and find a home.

才能找到一个家。

And I've noticed so many people now

我看到现在很多人

take conscious measures to sit quietly for 30 minutes

有意识地每天早上静坐30分钟

every morning just collecting themselves

为了在房间的某个角落，远离设备，

in one corner of the room without their devices,

找到自我，

or go running every evening,

或是每天晚上跑步，

or leave their cell phones behind

或和朋友促膝长谈时

when they go to have a long conversation with a friend.

远离手机。

Movement is a fantastic privilege,

移动是一种珍贵的荣耀，

and it allows us to do so much that our grandparents

它使我们得以做一些

could never have dreamed of doing.

祖辈们从没想过的事情。

But movement, ultimately,

但是最终，移动

only has a meaning if you have a home to go back to.

只有在有家可归时才有意义。

And home, in the end, is of course

家，说到底，

not just the place where you sleep.

不仅仅是你居住的地方。

It's the place where you stand.

而是你立足的地方。

Thank you.

谢谢大家

(Applause)

（掌声）