What Makes Us Rich

Lori+Deschene

“If you realize that you have enough， you are truly rich.” - Lao Tzu

“知足常乐。”——老子

In the Pixar movie Up， Carl and Ellie save all their lives to visit Paradise Falls only to realize theyre never able to save enough. Every time they save a lot， life happens and they need to spend it.

皮克斯公司的电影《飞屋环游记》中，卡尔和艾丽一生的愿望就是去天堂瀑布探险，但他们总是没有存够钱。每次当他们有笔大积蓄时，生活就有意外发生，他们就不得不花出这笔钱。

This is a reality I know all too well. It frustrates me that every time I come into an unexpected sum of money， a need emerges to use it. One time I got an extra freelance job and suddenly needed a thousand dollars in dental care. Another time， I sold more ad space than usual and then found out I needed expensive work on my old car. Almost every time Ive gotten extra cash， Ive needed to spend it， which has made it seem like I can never really get “ahead”.

我对这点感同身受。每当我有笔意外收入时，就会有需要用钱的地方，这让我觉得沮丧不已。有一次，我得到一份额外的撰稿工作，但马上就得在牙齿护理上花1000 美元。还有一次，我（注：作者为某网站创始人）卖出了更多的广告版面，但却发现需要在旧车上花费一大笔钱。几乎每次我有额外收入时，就有需要花钱的地方，看起来就像我永远也没法“更进一步”。

Recently， I took a close look at my frustration and realized Id been seeing things all wrong. I wasnt unlucky for always having reasons to spend unexpected money. I was lucky for always having that money to pay for unexpected needs.

最近，我仔细地回想我的失望感，就意识到自己看问题的角度是错的。我总是因为各种原因需要花出意外收入，这并不是一种不幸；恰恰相反，我应该感到庆幸，那就是我总是有资金来应对这些不时之需。

Most of us are. We can pay our rent and things for everyday use， but we may not always feel like were getting ahead， but maybe theres nowhere to get to. Maybe all we need to do is be thankful for our overall comfort.We should realize that there are some people who dont have enough， and for each of us， there will be times when were struggling more than usual.Thats why we owe it to ourselves to stop and recognize what we have when we have it. Were only rich when we stop to celebrate that we dont actually need it.

我们大多数人都是这样。我们可以支付房租和生活必需品费用，但我们并不觉得自己一直在进步，而是对未来的目标很迷茫。其实我们要做的就是对这种整体的舒适感充满感恩。我们应当意识到，还有一些人拥有得更少，而且我们每个人都可能会遇到举步维艰的时刻。这也是为什么我们应该停下脚步，审视我们现在所拥有的。只有当我们驻足庆幸我们并不需要那么富有时，我们才是真正的富有。

（Do you think you are rich？）endprint