Carl Honore: In praise of slowness

翻译人员: Jing Zeng 校对人员: Lina Lin

What I'd like to start off with is an observation,

在演讲开始，我愿意先讲一个事情，

which is that if I've learned anything over the last year,

如果说去年有什么让我印象深刻，

it's that the supreme irony

就是极具讽刺意味的

of publishing a book about slowness

出版一本号召讲将速度慢下来的书

is that you have to go around promoting it really fast.

你却不得不超快速的四处推销它。

I seem to spend most of my time these days

我这些日子花了大部分时间，

zipping from city to city, studio to studio,

在城市、演播室以及

interview to interview,

访谈节目之间奔走，

serving up the book in really tiny bite-size chunks.

但实际用来宣传书的时间却少的可怜。

Because everyone these days

因为现在每个人

wants to know how to slow down,

都想知道该如何放慢速度，

but they want to know how to slow down really quickly. So ...

然而，他们却想要知道如何超快速的放慢速度。所以...

so I did a spot on CNN the other day

前不久我在CNN上了一个通告

where I actually spent more time in makeup than I did talking on air.

在那，我上电视的时间还没有化妆的时间长

And I think that -- that's not really surprising though, is it?

而我想这还真算不上让人吃惊的事，对吧？

Because that's kind of the world that we live in now,

因为我们现在所处的，就是一个这样的世界

a world stuck in fast-forward.

一个沉溺于追求快速前进的世界。

A world obsessed with speed,

一个迷恋速度的世界，

with doing everything faster, with cramming more and more

做每一件事情都追求更快，往越来越少的时间里

into less and less time.

填鸭进更多的东西。

Every moment of the day feels like

每一天每一刻都感觉像

a race against the clock.

在和时间赛跑

To borrow a phrase from Carrie Fisher, which is

引用凯利.费雪（美国影星）的一句话，这句话

in my bio there; I'll just toss it out again --

在我的自传里面有写，我只是再次引用

"These days even instant gratification takes too long." (Laughter)

“现在大家连瞬间得到的快感（高潮）都嫌太久。”

And

另外

if you think about how we to try to make things better, what do we do?

假如让你想我们怎样才能将事情做得更好，会有什么主意？

No, we speed them up, don't we? So we used to dial; now we speed dial.

我们会加速做事情，不是么？所以，以前我们拨电话；现在我们快拨。

We used to read; now we speed read. We used to walk; now we speed walk.

以前我们阅读；现在我们快读。以前我们走路，现在我们快走。

And of course, we used to date and now we speed date.

当然还有，以前我们约会，现在我们速食约会。

And even things that are by their very nature slow --

即使是那些本身就需要慢慢做的事情

we try and speed them up too.

我们也千方百计加速做。

So I was in New York recently, and I walked past a gym

我最近在纽约，路过一家健身馆

that had an advertisement in the window for a new course, a new evening course.

他们橱窗上有一个新课程的广告，是个晚间课程。

And it was for, you guessed it, speed yoga.

你猜得到吗，是关于快速瑜伽的。

So this -- the perfect solution for time-starved professionals

这个就是为超级没时间的上班族们提供的最佳解决方案

who want to, you know, salute the sun,

这些人，想要练习（瑜伽）拜日式

but only want to give over about 20 minutes to it.

但却只想花大约20分钟在这上面。

I mean, these are sort of the extreme examples,

我想，这些都是有点儿极端的例子，

and they're amusing and good to laugh at.

而且都有些意思，可以当笑话听。

But there's a very serious point,

但是，这些例子也说明了一个非常严肃的问题，

and I think that in the headlong dash of daily life,

在每天匆匆忙忙的生活中，

we often lose sight of the damage

我们常常看不到

that this roadrunner form of living does to us.

这种竞走式的生活方式给我们带来的伤害。

We're so marinated in the culture of speed

我们已经在速食文化中淫浸得太深了

that we almost fail to notice the toll it takes

以至于我们几乎觉察不到它让

on every aspect of our lives --

我们在生活方方面面所付出的代价。

on our health, our diet, our work,

对我们的健康，饮食，工作

our relationships, the environment and our community.

人际关系，环境以及生活的社区都产生了消极的影响。

And sometimes it takes

而有时候只要

a wake-up call, doesn't it,

一声警示来

to alert us to the fact that we're hurrying through our lives,

提醒我们正在匆忙地度过我们的生命，

instead of actually living them; that we're

而不是真正有意义的过生活；提醒我们

living the fast life, instead of the good life.

我们在过快日子，而不是在过好日子。

And I think for many people, that wake-up call

而我认为对很多人而言，那个警示铃

takes the form of an illness.

常常是以疾病的形式出现。

You know, a burnout, or eventually the body says,

疾病突然爆发，最后身体对你说

"I can't take it anymore," and throws in the towel.

“我再也受不了了。”然后就垮了。

Or maybe a relationship goes up in smoke

也许这个警示会在一场恋爱化为泡影后出现

because we haven't had the time, or the patience,

失败是因为我们抑或没有时间，抑或没有耐心，

or the tranquility,

或是不能安静地

to be with the other person, to listen to them.

陪着另一半，倾听他们的述说。

And my wake-up call came when I started

而我的警示铃是在我开始

reading bedtime stories to my son,

为我儿子念睡前故事的时候响起的，

and I found that at the end of day,

我发现在一天结束之时，

I would go into his room and I just couldn't slow down -- you know,

我走进他的房间，就是不能把自己的速度慢下来

I'd be speed reading "The Cat In The Hat."

我会很快的念《戴帽子的猫》

I'd be -- you know, I'd be skipping lines here,

我会这儿跳过几句，

paragraphs there, sometimes a whole page,

那儿概括几句，有时几句话概括一整页的内容

and of course, my little boy knew the book inside out, so we would quarrel.

当然，我的小儿子对这本书倒背如流，所以我们就会争起来。

And what should have been the most relaxing, the most intimate,

当一个爸爸坐下来，为他的儿子读故事，

the most tender moment of the day,

这本最应该是一天中最放松，最亲密，

when a dad sits down to read to his son,

最亲切柔软的时刻，

became instead this kind of gladiatorial battle of wills,

反而变成了这种角斗士般关于意志的争斗；

a clash between my speed

变成了他要快我要...

and his slowness.

不，是我要快他要慢而引起的冲突

And this went on for some time,

而且这种情况持续了一段时间，

until I caught myself scanning a newspaper article

直到我读了报纸上的一篇文章

with timesaving tips for fast people.

是为追求快速的人提供的省时窍门。

And one of them made reference to a series of books called

其中一个窍门引用了一系列丛书作参考，叫做

"The One-Minute Bedtime Story."

“一分钟的床前故事。”

And I wince saying those words now,

而我，现在真不愿意承认

but my first reaction at the time was very different.

但是我那时的第一反应和现在非常的不同。

My first reflex was to say,

我的第一反应是说，

"Hallelujah -- what a great idea!

“哈利路亚——这是个多么棒的点子！

This is exactly what I'm looking for to speed up bedtime even more."

这正好能帮我把床前故事讲的更快一些。”

But thankfully,

但还好，

a light bulb went on over my head, and my next reaction was very different,

我头脑一清醒，而我的下面的反应就非常不同了，

and I took a step back, and I thought,

我退回一步想，

"Whoa -- you know, has it really come to this?

“停，真的达到这种地步了吗？

Am I really in such a hurry that I'm prepared

我真的忙到这种地步，要

to fob off my son with a sound byte at the end of the day?"

在一天结束的时候，用一分钟故事来敷衍我儿子？”

And I put away the newspaper --

然后我把报纸拿开

and I was getting on a plane -- and I sat there,

我那时正在飞机上，我坐在那儿，

and I did something I hadn't done for a long time -- which is I did nothing.

做了一件我很久没做过的事情——那就是我什么都没做。

I just thought, and I thought long and hard.

我就只是在思考，深思了很久时间。

And by the time I got off that plane, I'd decided I wanted to do something about it.

而当我下飞机的时候，我决定我要对此做些什么。

I wanted to investigate this whole roadrunner culture,

我要研究整个的速食文化，

and what it was doing to me and to everyone else.

以及这个文化对我，对其他人都产生了什么影响。

And I had two questions in my head.

在我脑海中产生了两个问题。

The first was, how did we get so fast?

第一个问题是，我们怎么变得这么快的？

And the second is, is it possible,

第二个问题是，有没有可能慢下来，

or even desirable, to slow down?

或者，我们想慢下来么？

Now, if you think about

现在，假如你思考

how our world got so accelerated, the usual suspects rear their heads.

我们的世界是如何变得如此加速向前的，通常都怀疑是下面这些引起的

You think of, you know, urbanization,

我们会想到城市化，

consumerism, the workplace, technology.

消费主义，工厂，技术。

But I think if you cut through

但是我想，如果你透过

those forces, you get to what might be the deeper

这些方面，你会思考到可能是更深层的

driver, the nub of the question,

驱动力问题，这个问题的核心，

which is how we think about time itself.

就是我们如何看待时间本身。

In other cultures, time is cyclical.

在其它文化中，时间是循环往复的。

It's seen as moving in great,

时间看起来是在巨大的

unhurried circles.

从容不迫的循环中移动。

It's always renewing and refreshing itself.

时间总是在不断复活，不断更新。

Whereas in the West, time is linear.

而在西方，时间是直线性的。

It's a finite resource;

时间是有限资源，

it's always draining away.

总是不断在衰竭。

You either use it, or lose it.

你要么使用时间，要么失去时间。

"Time is money," as Benjamin Franklin said.

就像本杰明·富兰克林说的那样，时间就是金钱。

And I think what that does to us psychologically

我想这句话对我们心理上产生的影响

is it creates an equation.

是这样的影响——它创造出一个平衡式。

Time is scarce, so what do we do?

时间非常有限，所以我们怎么办？

Well -- well, we speed up, don't we?

于是，我们就加速运转，不是么？

We try and do more and more with less and less time.

我们试着用更少的时间做更多的事。

We turn every moment of every day

我们把每一天的每一刻

into a race to the finish line --

都变成向终点线的赛跑。

a finish line, incidentally, that we never reach,

那一终点线，顺便说一句，我们却从未到达过，

but a finish line nonetheless.

但是那仍然还是一条终点线。

And I guess that the question is,

那么我想问题是，

is it possible to break free from that mindset?

有没有可能从这一习惯性思维中跳出来？

And thankfully, the answer is yes, because

还好，答案是“有可能”，因为

what I discovered, when I began looking around, that there is

当我开始环顾四周，我发现，有一种

a global backlash against this culture that

全球性的反抗力量存在，反抗这种高速度文化

tells us that faster is always better, and that busier is best.

这种高速度文化告诉我们越快越好，而且越忙越好。

Right across the world, people are doing the unthinkable:

在全世界，有人做着意想不到的事：

they're slowing down, and finding that,

他们放慢节奏，而且发现

although conventional wisdom tells you that if you slow down, you're road kill,

尽管习惯思维告诉你，假如你放慢节奏，就会被时代潮流抛弃，

the opposite turns out to be true:

而事实上结果却相反。

that by slowing down at the right moments,

在合适的时候放慢节奏，

people find that they do everything better.

人们发现他们做什么都做得更好。

They eat better; they make love better; they exercise better;

他们吃得更好，性生活更和谐，锻炼效果更好，

they work better; they live better.

他们工作更棒，生活得也更好。

And, in this kind of cauldron

而在这些时刻，这些地方，

of moments and places and acts of deceleration,

这些减速的行动中，

lie what a lot of people now refer to as

就存在着许多人所说的

the "International Slow Movement."

国际慢活运动。

Now if you'll permit me a small act of hypocrisy,

现在，假如你允许我言行小小的不一致，

I'll just give you a very quick overview of

我将为你快速的概括一下——

what's going on inside the Slow Movement. If you think of food,

慢活运动中人们正在做些什么。若你们关心吃食，

many of you will have heard of the Slow Food movement.

那你们中许多人应该听过慢食运动。

Started in Italy, but has spread across the world,

这场运动开始于意大利，但已传遍全世界，

and now has 100,000 members

并且现在已经有100,000成员

in 50 countries.

遍布50个国家。

And it's driven by a very simple and sensible message,

而且这场运动只是被一个非常简单和明智的信条所驱使，

which is that we get more pleasure and more health

那就是，当我们以不紧不慢的速度种植、烹饪还有食用食物的时候，

from our food when we

我们从食物当中，

cultivate, cook and consume it at a reasonable pace.

将获得更多快乐和健康

I think also the explosion of

我认为有机农业运动的

the organic farming movement, and the renaissance of farmers' markets,

蓬勃发展，以及农场主市场的复兴，

are other illustrations

也体现出

of the fact that people are desperate to get away from

人们非常想从

eating and cooking and cultivating their food

享用、烹饪食物以及种植食物的工业化方式

on an industrial timetable.

中逃离出来。

They want to get back to slower rhythms.

他们想要慢些的节奏。

And out of the Slow Food movement has grown something

而从慢食运动中产生了

called the Slow Cities movement, which has started in Italy,

被称之为慢活城市的运动，从意大利开始

but has spread right across Europe and beyond.

却已经传遍欧洲和其它地方。

And in this, towns

而在这一运动中，城市

begin to rethink how they organize the urban landscape,

开始重新考虑如何规划城市景观，

so that people are encouraged to slow down

能鼓励人们去——去放慢节奏

and smell the roses and connect with one another.

去闻闻玫瑰花，而且相互交流。

So they might curb traffic,

所以他们可能会交通，

or put in a park bench, or some green space.

或是放置公园长椅，或是设置一些绿地面积。

And in some ways, these changes add up to more than the sum of their parts,

某种程度上，这些改变能出现一加一大于二的效果。

because I think when a Slow City becomes officially a Slow City,

当一座号召慢活的城市变成了一座真正意义上的慢速城市，

it's kind of like a philosophical declaration.

就有点像一种哲学理性上的宣言。

It's saying to the rest of world, and to the people in that town,

它是在向世界其它地区宣称，也是向那座城市的人民宣称，

that we believe that in the 21st century,

宣称我们相信在21世纪，

慢速将发挥其作用。

In medicine, I think a lot of people are deeply disillusioned

在医疗方面，我想很多人都深感幻想破灭

with the kind of quick-fix mentality

对于你在传统医疗中存在的

you find in conventional medicine.

那种速效治疗想法的幻灭。

And millions of them around the world are turning

因此全球数以百万的人转向

to complementary and alternative forms of medicine,

补充和替代形式的医疗，

which tend to tap into sort of

这种医疗倾向于使用比较

slower, gentler, more holistic forms of healing.

慢一些，柔和一些，更全面的治疗形式。

Now, obviously the jury is out on many of these complementary therapies,

现在，对于许多的补充性治疗方法，明显还没有最后定论，

and I personally doubt that the coffee enema

且我个人怀疑咖啡灌肠法

will ever, you know, gain mainstream approval.

也不会得到大众的认同。

But other treatments

但是其他治疗方法

such as acupuncture and massage, and even just relaxation,

比如针灸和按摩，甚至只是放松法，

clearly have some kind of benefit.

却明显的有一定好处。

And blue-chip medical colleges everywhere

且各处一流的医学院都正在

are starting to study these things to find out how they work,

开始研究这些治疗方法，看它们如何产生效果，

and what we might learn from them.

以及我们能从这些方法中学到什么。

Sex. There's an awful lot of fast sex around, isn't there?

关于性，四处都有非常多快速的性关系，不是么？

I was coming to --

我打算去

well -- no pun intended there.

好吧——我没想暗示什么

I was making my way, let's say, slowly to Oxford,

我当时正往，这么说吧，慢慢的往牛津走，

and I went through a news agent, and I saw a magazine,

然后我经过一个报刊亭，看到一本杂志，

a men's magazine, and it said on the front,

一本男性杂志，在封面上写着，

"How to bring your partner to orgasm in 30 seconds."

“如何在30秒内把你的伴侣带入性高潮。”

So, you know, even sex

你们看见了，就连性

is on a stopwatch these days.

现在也用计秒表数着时间了。

Now, you know,

现在

I like a quickie as much as the next person,

我差不多和其他人一样快速完事，

but I think that there's an awful lot to be gained

但我认为从缓慢的性生活中，

from slow sex -- from slowing down in the bedroom.

在卧室里放慢速度，我们能收获非常多。

You know, you tap into that -- those deeper,

你利用这些更深层的，

sort of, psychological, emotional, spiritual currents,

有点儿心理的，情感的，精神的电流，

and you get a better orgasm with the buildup.

那么你会得到一个更棒的累积起来的性高潮。

You can get more bang for your buck, let's say.

让我们这么说吧，你可以为你的身体得到更大的快乐。

I mean, the Pointer Sisters said it most eloquently, didn't they,

我的意思是，指针姐妹合唱团把这个道理说得最动人，不是么，

when they sang the praises of "a lover with a slow hand."

她们为爱人缓慢游走的手唱赞歌。

Now, we all laughed at Sting

几年前我们都嘲笑斯汀（歌手）

a few years ago when he went Tantric,

学习印度密宗性法（使缓慢持续）的事情

but you fast-forward a few years, and now you find couples of all ages

但是如果我们把时钟拨快几年，现在你会发现各个年龄层的夫妻

flocking to workshops, or maybe just

都去参加课程学习，或可能只是

on their own in their own bedrooms, finding ways

在他们自己的卧室里寻找方法

to put on the brakes and have better sex.

来放缓步调，从而拥有更好的性生活。

And of course, in Italy where -- I mean, Italians always seem to know

当然，在意大利，我是说，意大利人看起来总是知道

where to find their pleasure --

到哪去找乐子

they've launched an official Slow Sex movement.

他们已经开展了一场正式的慢速性生活运动。

The workplace.

在日常工作方面

Right across much of the world --

世界大部分地方的

North America being a notable exception --

工作时间都已经有所减少

working hours have been coming down.

不过北美明显是个例外。

And Europe is an example of that,

欧洲就是个减少工时的例子，

and people finding that their quality of life improves

人们发现他们的生活质量上升了

as they're working less, and also

随着工作时间的减少，工作时效也

that their hourly productivity goes up.

提高了。

Now, clearly there are problems with

现在，很明显的，法国每周35小时

the 35-hour workweek in France --

的工作时间存在问题

too much, too soon, too rigid.

太多，太快，太死板。

But other countries in Europe, notably the Nordic countries,

但欧洲的其它国家，特别是在北欧国家，

are showing that it's possible

事实表明无须工作成狂

to have a kick-ass economy

也能拥有

without being a workaholic.

一流的经济

And Norway, Sweden,

挪威、瑞典、

Denmark and Finland now rank

丹麦以及芬兰现在

among the top six most competitive nations on Earth,

都位列世界六大最具竞争力的国家之列，

and they work the kind of hours that would make the average American

并且他们工作时间之短会使得一般的美国人

weep with envy.

嫉妒得想哭。

And if you go beyond sort of the country level,

而假如你越过这种国家层次，

down at the micro-company level,

往下看微观，公司层次，

more and more companies now are realizing

现在越来越多的公司意识到

that they need to allow their staff

他们有必要让员工

either to work fewer hours or just to unplug --

或者减少工作时间，或者离开工作在

to take a lunch break, or to go sit in a quiet room,

午餐时间休息一下，或者坐在一个安静的房间里，

to switch off their Blackberrys and laptops -- you at the back --

关掉他们的黑莓手机——说你呢，后面那个

mobile phones,

手机，

during the work day or on the weekend, so that they have time to recharge

这些在工作日或周末的休息让他们有时间去充电

and for the brain to slide into that

有时间让大脑进入

kind of creative mode of thought.

那种创造性思维模式。

It's not just, though, these days,

然而，现在并不只是

adults who overwork, though, is it? It's children, too.

成年人工作超负荷，不是么？小孩子也是。

I'm 37, and my childhood ended in the mid-'80s,

我37岁，而我80年代中期才结束童年，

and I look at kids now, and I'm just amazed by the way they

而现在我看着孩子们，看着他们赶着做

race around with more homework,

家庭作业，忙着补习

more tutoring, more extracurriculars

参加课外活动，

than we would ever have conceived of a generation ago.

繁忙程度是我们这一代人从没想过的，我就感到很吃惊。

And some of the most heartrending emails

而我在我的网站上收到的最令人

that I get on my website

痛心的邮件

are actually from adolescents

事实上就是出自徘徊在疲劳殆尽边缘的青少年之手

hovering on the edge of burnout, pleading with me

他们恳求我

to write to their parents,

给他们的家长写信，

to help them slow down, to help them get off this

帮助他们放慢节奏，帮助他们摆脱

full-throttle treadmill.

这超速的运转。

But thankfully, there is a backlash there in parenting as well,

但也谢天谢地，也有一些父母在反思，

and you're finding that, you know, towns in the United States

大家会发现，美国的城市

are now banding together and banning extracurriculars

现在开始联合行动，在每个月特定的一天

on a particular day of the month, so that people can,

禁止课外课程，这样人们就能，

you know, decompress and have some family time, and slow down.

就能释放压力，拥有家庭时间，以此放慢步调。

Homework is another thing. There are homework bans

家庭作业是另一回事。家庭作业禁令

springing up all over the developed world

在发达国家的学校非常普遍，

in schools which had been piling on the homework for years,

一些学校以前曾有家庭作业成堆的现象，

and now they're discovering that less can be more.

而现在他们发现作业数量少，质量可能更好。

So there was a case up in Scotland recently

因此，最近苏格兰出现一件实例

where a fee-paying, high-achieving private school

有一间苏格兰的高学费且高回报的私立学校

banned homework

对13岁以下的学生

for everyone under the age of 13,

禁止布置家庭作业，

and the high-achieving parents freaked out and said,

这让期望很高的父母吓了一跳并说，

"What are you -- you know, our kids will fall" -- the headmaster said,

“你们在干什么，这样我们孩子的成绩会下降”校长却说，

"No, no, your children need to slow down at the end of the day."

“不会，不会，你们的孩子需要在放学后放松下来。”

And just this last month, the exam results came in,

而就在上个月，考试成绩出来，

and in math, science, marks went up 20 percent

在数学，科学等课程上，分数上升了百分之二十

on average last year.

和去年平均成绩比。

And I think what's very revealing is that

而我认为非常具有启发意义的是

the elite universities, who are often cited as the reason

进入一流大学常常是家长驱使孩子

that people drive their kids and hothouse them so much,

努力学习的原因，而这些大学却发现

are starting to notice the caliber of students

他们学生的素质正在下降。

coming to them is falling. These kids have wonderful marks;

这些孩子拥有很棒的成绩，

they have CVs jammed with extracurriculars,

他们的简历里写满了参加课外活动的经历，

to the point that would make your eyes water.

多到会让你看了想哭的程度。

But they lack spark; they lack

然而他们却缺乏活力，他们缺乏

the ability to think creatively and think outside --

创造性思考和独立思考的能力

they don't know how to dream. And so what these Ivy League schools,

他们不知道如何想象。因此，这些常春藤高校

and Oxford and Cambridge and so on, are starting to send a message

以及牛津、剑桥等大学，开始向家长和学生们发出信息

to parents and students that they need to put on the brakes a little bit.

表示家长学生们需要对此做出一些补救行动。

And in Harvard, for instance, they send out

以哈佛大学为例，他们向

a letter to undergraduates -- freshmen --

本科大一新生发出一封信

telling them that they'll get more out of life, and more out of Harvard,

告诉他们，他们能从日常生活，从哈佛大学收获更多，

if they put on the brakes, if they do less,

假如他们能减缓过于紧张的步调；假如他们能稍稍放松自己，

but give time to things, the time that things need,

把时间放在那些有需要的事情上，给予那些事情足够的时间

to enjoy them, to savor them.

好好享受，体味这些事情。

And even if they sometimes do nothing at all.

而有时候即使他们什么也不做（也能有很好的效果）。

And that letter is called -- very revealing, I think --

我认为那封信的题目非常具有启发性，它叫

"Slow Down!" -- with an exclamation mark on the end.

“放慢速度！”——以一个感叹号结尾。

So wherever you look, the message, it seems to me, is the same:

所以不管你从哪个角度看，这一讯息，在我看来，都是一样的。

that less is very often more,

少一点常常意味更多，

that slower is very often

慢一些意味着更好。

better. But that said, of course,

然而这样说，当然，

it's not that easy to slow down, is it?

并不是说放慢速度那么容易，不是么？

I mean, you heard that I got a speeding ticket

我的意思是，当我正在写关于“慢有何好处”的书时

while I was researching my book on the benefits of slowness,

拿到一张超速罚单，

and that's true, but that's not all of it.

这是真的，而且事实还远不止这样

I was actually en route to a dinner

那时候，我实际上是在前往

held by Slow Food at the time.

慢食俱乐部组织的一场晚宴途中。

And if that's not shaming enough, I got that ticket in Italy.

如果这还不算丢脸的话，我还是在意大利拿的罚单。

And if any of you have ever driven on an Italian highway,

如果你们中任何人曾在意大利高速公路上开过车的话，

you'll have a pretty good idea of how fast I was going.

你肯定知道我当时开得有多快。

(Laughter)

（观众大笑，因为意大利人开快车相当彪悍）

But why is it so hard to slow down?

但是为什么放慢速度如此之难？

I think there are various reasons.

我认为原因有很多。

One is that speed is fun, you know, speed is sexy.

其一是速度快让人开心，你们知道的，速度快很性感。

It's all that adrenaline rush. It's hard to give it up.

这都是肾上腺冲动造成的。很难根除。

I think there's a kind of metaphysical dimension --

有一种哲学上的维度——

that speed becomes a way of walling ourselves off

在这种维度中，速度成为了把我们自身与

from the bigger, deeper questions.

更大、更深层次问题隔离的壁垒。

We fill our head with distraction, with busyness,

我们脑子里充满着让我们分心和忙碌的事情，

so that we don't have to ask,

使得我们不需要询问自己，

am I well? Am I happy? Are my children growing up right?

我还好么？我快乐么？我的孩子这样成长的方式是正确的么？

Are politicians making good decisions on my behalf?

政治家们的决定是否代表了我的利益？

Another reason -- although I think, perhaps, the most powerful reason --

另一个原因我认为最强有力的原因也许是

why we find it hard to slow down is the cultural taboo

之所以这么难慢下来，是源自文化中的一种行为定式

that we've erected against slowing down.

我们树立起的文化不允许我们慢下来。

"Slow" is a dirty word in our culture.

缓慢在我们的文化中是个贬义词。

It's a byword for "lazy," "slacker,"

它是懒，懒虫的代名词，

for being somebody who gives up.

是用来说那些做事容易放弃的人的。

You know, "he's a bit slow." It's actually synonymous

“他有一点慢。”实际上是说

with being stupid.

这个人有点蠢。

I guess what the Slow Movement -- the purpose of the Slow Movement,

我想慢活运动的目的

or its main goal, really, is to tackle that taboo,

或者说它的主要目标，事实上，就是去破除这种定式

and to say that yes,

是为了表明

sometimes slow is not the answer,

有时候“该死的慢”的原因

that there is such a thing as "bad slow."

并不是在于“慢”本身

You know, I got stuck on the M25,

我最近有一次被困在

which is a ring road around London, recently,

伦敦的M25环线公路上，

and spent three-and-a-half hours there. And I can tell you,

而且在那里困了三个半小时。我可以告诉你，

that's really bad slow.

那才是真正的“该死的慢”

But the new idea,

但从另一个角度看

the sort of revolutionary idea, of the Slow Movement,

慢活运动所包含的有点颠覆性质的思想

is that there is such a thing as "good slow," too.

是说，有一种慢是“积极的慢”。

And good slow is, you know, taking the time

积极的慢就是花些时间

to eat a meal with your family, with the TV switched off.

和家人吃饭，没有电视机在旁边干扰。

Or taking the time to look at a problem from all angles

或者是在办公室里花些时间把事情进行全面地梳理

in the office to make the best decision

从而做出最明智的决定

at work.

这是从工作角度来说。

Or even simply just taking the time

又或者只是花些时间

to slow down

慢下来

and savor your life.

品味生活。

Now, one of the things that I found most uplifting

我发现自《慢活》一书出版以来

about all of this stuff that's happened around the book

在所有发生的事情中，最令人振奋的

since it came out, is the reaction to it.

就是人们对这本书的反应。

And I knew that when my book on slowness came out,

我料想到，当这本关于慢活的书面市，

it would be welcomed by the New Age brigade,

它会受到新生代的欢迎，

but it's also been taken up, with great gusto,

然而，它也同样被商界

by the corporate world -- you know,

津津乐道。不止那种

business press, but also

商业出版社，另外还有

big companies and leadership organizations.

大公司和组织的领导阶层的接纳。

Because people at the top of the chain, people like you, I think,

因为像在座各位，处于领导链顶端的人，我想

are starting to realize that there's too much

他们开始意识到，在（组织）系统中

speed in the system,

高速运作得有点过头了，

there's too much busyness, and it's time to find,

工作过于忙碌，是时候找回

or get back to that lost art of shifting gears.

那种已经遗失的慢速换挡艺术。

Another encouraging sign, I think,

我觉得另一个令人鼓舞的现象

is that it's not just in the developed world

是不止在发达国家

that this idea's been taken up. In the developing world,

人们开始接纳这种思想。在发展中国家中，

in countries that are on the verge of making that leap

那些即将跨入

into first world status -- China, Brazil,

第一世界之列的国家——中国，巴西，

Thailand, Poland, and so on --

泰国、波兰以及其它一些国家

these countries have embraced the idea of the Slow Movement,

它们已经开始接受慢活运动的观点，

many people in them, and there's a debate going on

在媒体上，在大街小巷

in their media, on the streets.

也有关于此观点的争论。

Because I think they're looking at the West, and they're saying,

因为他们关注着西方世界，他们认为，

"Well, we like that aspect of what you've got,

“嗯，我们对你们在这方面的观点很感兴趣，

but we're not so sure about that."

但我们不很确定是不是真的可能（做到放慢速度）。”

So all of that said, is it,

他们所说的这些，确实如此，

I guess, is it possible?

这是可能的么？

That's really the main question before us today. Is it possible

这确实是如今摆在我们面前的主要问题。是否可能

to slow down? And

放慢速度？

I'm happy to be able to say to you

我很高兴我可以告诉你说

that the answer is a resounding yes.

这个答案是，完全可能。

And I present myself as Exhibit A,

我自己就是一个实证

a kind of reformed and rehabilitated

一个改过自新并且恢复正常的

speed-aholic.

曾经的速度狂人。

I still love speed. You know, I live in London,

我仍然喜欢快速。我住在伦敦，

and I work as a journalist,

而且是个记者，

and I enjoy the buzz and the busyness,

喜欢忙忙碌碌，

and the adrenaline rush that comes from both of those things.

喜欢由此产生的肾上腺素的刺激。

I play squash and ice hockey,

我玩壁球，也玩冰球，

two very fast sports, and I wouldn't give them up for the world.

这两种都是非常讲究速度的运动，我绝不会放弃这两种运动。

But I've also, over the last year or so,

但是在过去的一年多，我

got in touch with my inner tortoise.

与我内心的慢龟龟进行了交流

(Laughter)

（大笑）

And what that means is that

那意味着

I no longer

我不去，我不再去

overload myself gratuitously.

无缘无故的弄得自己负荷过重。

My default mode is no longer

我的默认模式不再是

to be a rush-aholic.

做一个大忙人。

I no longer hear

我再

time's winged chariot drawing near,

也听不到时间高速战车催促迫近的声音，

or at least not as much as I did before.

至少不再像以前我感觉到的那么多。

I can actually hear it now, because I see my time is ticking off.

我现在能听到这种时间催促的声音，因为我看到演讲时间分分秒秒过去。

And the upshot of all of that is that

而所有这些的重点结论是

I actually feel a lot happier, healthier,

比起从前的我，我真的感到更快乐，更健康，

more productive than I ever have.

更有效率了。

I feel like I'm living

我觉得我在享受

my life rather than actually just racing through it.

我的人生，而不是在匆忙度日。

And perhaps, the most important

也许，最重要的

measure of the success of this

衡量慢活成功的标志是

is that I feel that my relationships are a lot deeper,

我感觉到和他人的关系更密切

richer, stronger.

感情更深了，联系更强了。

And for me, I guess, the litmus test

对我而言，我想衡量这种方式

for whether this would work, and what it would mean,

是否产生作用，以及它的意义最直接的方法

was always going to be bedtime stories, because that's sort of where

还是要回到我给儿子说睡前故事的事，因为那是这个事情

the journey began. And there too the news is

的开端。而这个结果

rosy. You know,

很美好。

at the end of the day, I go into my son's room.

晚上，我走进儿子的卧室。

I don't wear a watch. I switch off my computer,

没戴表，关上了电脑，

so I can't hear the email pinging into the basket,

这样我就听不见有新电子邮件到达的震动声，

and I just slow down to his pace and we read.

我按着儿子的速度慢下来，我们一起阅读。

And because children have their own tempo and internal clock,

因为孩子们有自己的节奏和生物钟，

they don't do quality time,

他们不管父母们计划的家庭时间

where you schedule 10 minutes for them to open up to you.

你计划10分钟让他们对你打开心怀。

They need you to move at their rhythm.

而他们却要你跟着他们的节奏来行动。

I find that 10 minutes into a story, you know,

10分钟进入了故事状态，

my son will suddenly say, "You know,

而我儿子却会忽然说，“你知道吗，

something happened in the playground today that really bothered me."

今天在操场上发生了些事情，真让我烦恼。”

And we'll go off and have a conversation on that.

然后我们就会不讲故事了，转而说说运动场发生了什么。

And I now find that bedtime stories

而我现在发现

used to be

它曾经只是一种

a box on my to-do list, something that I dreaded,

一项例行公事，成为我负担的睡前故事

because it was so slow and I had to get through it quickly.

这件耗时得让我想赶快完成它的睡前故事

It's become my reward at the end of the day,

现在变成了在一天结束时对我的奖励，

something I really cherish.

成为了我真的，真的很珍惜的事情。

And I have a kind of Hollywood ending

我打算用一个好莱坞电影式的故事

to my talk this afternoon,

结束我今天下午的演讲

which goes a little bit like this:

大致是这样的：

a few months ago, I was getting ready to go on

几个月之前，我准备进行

another book tour, and I had my bags packed.

新一轮新书外地宣传，行李都已经收拾好了。

I was downstairs by the front door, and I was waiting for a taxi,

我就在楼下门口等计程车，

and my son came down the stairs and

这时我儿子走下楼，

he'd made a card for me. And he was carrying it.

他正拿着为我做的一张卡片。

He'd gone and stapled two cards, very like these, together,

他把两张卡片钉在一块，就像这些，

and put a sticker of his favorite

而且贴了他最喜欢的人物贴纸

character, Tintin, on the front.

丁丁（漫画人物，职业是记者）在卡片上。

And he said to me,

接着他对我说，

or he handed this to me, and I read it,

或者这么说，他把卡片递给我，接着我读到，

and it said, "To Daddy, love Benjamin."

卡片上写着，“致爸爸，爱你的本杰明。”

And I thought, "Aw, that's really sweet.

我就想说，“啊，这真是太棒了，

Is that a good luck on the book tour card?"

这是不是一张祝我外出顺利的好运卡呢？”

And he said, "No, no, no, Daddy -- this is a card

然而他说，“不，不是，不是，爸爸，这是一张

for being the best story reader in the world."

送给世界上故事讲得最好的人的卡片。”

And I thought, "Yeah, you know, this slowing down thing really does work."

接着我想，“看来放慢速度真他奶奶的管用啊。。。”

Thank you very much.

非常感谢在座各位。