How to Spend the Life You Have Left 如何度过余下时光

How to Spend the Life You Have Left　如何度过余下时光

◎ Leo Babauta

It’s hard, from within the storm of every day life, to see things with real perspective, to know what’s important and what’s simply pressing on our consciousness right now, demanding attention.
We have people emailing us for information and requesting action, we have phone calls and visitors and a long to do list and a million chores and errands to run and all of the slings and arrows of our daily reality...and yet, what is important?
Ask yourself this: if you suddenly found out you only had 6 months to live (for whatever reason), would the thing in front of you matter to you?
Would those 20 emails waiting for a response matter? Would the paperwork waiting to be processed matter? Would the work you’re doing matter? Would the meetings you’re supposed to have matter? Would a big car and nice house and high-paying job and cool computer and mobile device and nice shoes and clothes matter?
I’m not saying they wouldn’t matter...but it’s important to ask yourself if they would.
What would matter to you?
For many of us, it’s the loved ones in our lives. If we don’t have loved ones...maybe it’s time we started figuring out why, and addressing that. Maybe we haven’t made time for others, for getting out and meeting others and helping others and being compassionate and passionate about others. Maybe we have shut ourselves in somehow. Or maybe we do have loved ones in our lives, but we don’t seem to have the time we want to spend with them.
When was the last time you told your loved ones you loved them? Spent good quality time with them, being in the moment?
For many of us, we are doing work that matters...would matter. That might mean helping others, or making a vital contribution to society, or creating something brilliant and inspiring, or expressing ourselves somehow. It’s not the money that matters, but the impact of the work. Are you doing work that matters?
For many of us, experiencing life would matter—really being in the moment, finding passion in our lives, seeing the world and traveling, or just seeing the world that’s around us right now, being with great people, doing amazing things, eating amazing food, playing.
These are just a few ideas...but what would matter to you?
I highly recommend that you spend at least a little time now, and regularly, thinking about this question...figuring out what really matters...and living a life that shows this.
How do you live a life that puts a great emphasis on what matters? Start by figuring out what matters, and what doesn’t. Then eliminate as much as you can of the stuff that doesn’t matter, or at least minimize it to the extent possible. Make room for what does matter.
Make the time for what does matter... today. Put it on your schedule, and don’t miss that appointment. Make those tough decisions—because choosing to live a life that is filled with the important stuff means making choices, and they’re not always easy choices. But it matters.
Spend time with your significant other; show them how important they are. Take the time to cuddle with your child, to read with her, to play with her, to have good conversations with her, to take walks with her. Take time to be in nature, to appreciate the beauty of the world around us. Take time to savor the little pleasures in life.
Because while you might not have only 6 months to live, I’m here to break the news to you: you really do only have a short time to live. Whether that’s 6 months, 6 years or 60...it’s but the blink of an eye.
The life you have left is a gift. Cherish it. Enjoy it now, to the fullest. Do what matters, now.


每天狂风骤雨般的生活中，用正确的角度去看待事情，判断什么才是真正重要的、什么只是因为压力而感到紧迫的，需要我们额外注意，因此实为不易。
每天，我们都会收到咨询信息或要求各种行动的邮件，要打电话，接待访客，应付冗长的工作安排，处理无数的家务杂活，没完没了地跑业务，还要化解现实生活中可笑的明枪暗箭……然而，什么是重要的？
请扪心自问：如果你突然发现自己的生命只剩半年（先别管什么原因），你面前这些事情对你真的重要吗？
那20封等着你回复的邮件重要吗？等着你处理的文件重要吗？你正在做的工作重要吗？你即将要开的会议重要吗？一辆轿车、一栋别墅、一份高薪工作、一台时髦电脑和手机、一双漂亮鞋子和一件漂亮衣服，对你来说重要吗？
我并不是说它们不重要……但是最重要的是，你要问问自己的内心，它们到底是否重要。
对你来说重要的是什么呢？
对我们很多人来说，重要的是那些我们爱的人。如果我们没有所爱的人……也许现在我们该开始想办法弄清楚原因了。也许我们没有为其他人留出时间，没有留出时间出去和他们见面，帮助他们，为他们付出我们的同情心、关心和热情。也许我们不知不觉地把自己封闭了起来。或许我们的生命里确实有爱着的人，也想多陪陪他们，但似乎就是没有时间。
你最近一次告诉你所爱的人你爱他们，是什么时候？最近一次和他们共度美好时光，是什么时候？
对我们许多人来说，我们所做的工作是重要的，或者说是最重要的。有的工作可能意味着帮助别人，也许是对社会作出重大贡献，也许是一个充满智慧、鼓舞人心的发明，也许是用某种方式表现了自己。钱有多少不重要，最重要的是工作产生的影响。你是在做着最重要的工作吗？
对许多人来说，体验生活是重要的：完全沉浸于此刻的生活，发现生活的激情之处，四处旅游观光，或欣赏身边世界的琐碎小事，和很棒的人在一起，做令人惊喜的事情，享受美食，尽情玩乐。
这些仅仅是个人想法……但真正对你来说重要的是什么呢？
我强烈建议，你至少得从现在开始，常花一点时间定期思考这个问题, 找到什么才是对你来说最重要的事情, 并为此而活。
怎样做才能将生活的重心放在重要的事情上呢？首先弄清楚什么是重要的，什么不是。能消除不重要的事情就尽量消除；实在无法避免，就尽最大限度减少它，腾出时间来做更重要的事。
从今天开始为重要的事情留出时间。把它们写在你的日程表上，不要让自己失约。此外，要作好各项艰难的决定，因为，既然你选择为重要的事情而活，你就必须作出各种抉择，当然了，有的选择不会那么容易。但它很重要。
花时间多陪陪你生命中很重要的人，让他们知道你有多在乎他们。多抱抱你的孩子，多教教她读书，多和她一起玩耍，多花点时间和她用心谈话、带她去散步。抽空让自己融入大自然，欣赏我们周遭世界的美好。细细品味和享受生活中的点滴愉悦。
虽然你的生命可能不止6个月长，但现在有条坏消息要告诉你，你剩下的时间真的不多了。6个月也好，6年或60年也好……一眨眼就过完了。
剩下的时间就是生命的礼物。珍惜它。享受现在，让人生从此刻更加完整。从现在开始，做有意义的事。