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【Abstract】Nowadays people are worried about everyday issues and are hard to obtain true happiness. Therefore， some people urge us to live a simple and happy life. Yet this ideal lifestyle is not easy to achieve. This article reveals problems in modern life and argues why people can’t truly pursue a simple and happy spiritual life in this era.
【Key words】 simple life; true happiness; materialistic; spiritual life
【作者簡介】刘芝钰（1999.03-），女，江苏苏州人，苏州大学外国语学院，本科在读，英语师范专业学生。
Our society has developed rapidly in recent years， that is to say， we are now living in a complicated society. Every day we are clouded by various annoying issues. It seems that we are now， to reach a peak of our career， losing our soul. After years of hard working， when we look back on all our efforts， will we obtain true happiness？
There is no doubt that we are trapped in modern world， and our social relationship will be in danger. We now judge our success mainly by what we possess. What people affected by American commercialism are apt to believe the false idea that to possess is to be happy. On account of this， we may feel jealous when we find that someone else has already owned what we want， which do harm to our social relationship. In the Holy Bible， Gain killed his brother Abe for his brother gained God’s appreciation. When jealous is grown in our mind， the flower of hatred may bloom， so that we will never be happy. What’s more， chasing what we wanted to possess such as luxurious commodity， social position and good reputation also has no good for our relationship， because we seem to be distant from our family. It does no good to couples as well as the growth of children. I once read about a story that a child was left in his hometown with his grandparents while his parents were working in a metropolis far away. When his parents came back to spend their Spring Festival holiday with him， the poor kid simply couldn’t realize that the man and the woman sitting near him were his dearest Dad and Mom. What a pity！
That’s what many people opposed. Instead， they call upon a simple lifestyle so that we can obtain true happiness. However， we cannot easily achieve， from my point of view， this lifestyle. It seems a little bit cruel， but I think this is real life for the majority of citizens can’t achieve a balance between their material and spiritual life.
As Sophie faced with the question that who she is in Sophie’s world， I am confronted with the question： What is important in our life？ The author mentioned in the passage that we can have more freedom to live and improve as long as we get rid of all but the essentials. But what is exactly important to us？ What are the essentials？ It is hard to answer， but I assume that the essentials are the glittering aspects of humanity such as benevolence， honesty， politeness， wisdom， etc. We modern citizens still have such personalities nowadays， but why we still feel empty in our heart？ Some believe that it is modern technology and various kinds of products that keep us away from living a happy life. To some degree， it is true. It has become a common phenomenon that people tend to spend more time on their smart phones. We chat online， do some shopping online， read online， etc. Even the children are spending more time than before using phones or iPads to play games. However， technology isn’t what to blame. Did those， who live in the past， without high-tech products feel happy？ Suppose that you live in hundreds of years ago， can you obtain happiness and feel no worry because there were no dizzying advanced products？ The answer is obviously NO. Our ancestors still had to worry， but unlike what we worried today， they worried more about how they could survive and support the family. They kept working from dawn to night， raising crops to feed their family members. Sometimes they even suffer from famine or floods. Their lifestyle was simple， but they couldn’t stop worrying. Emperors also worried. They worried about whether their people had enough food to eat and clothes to wear and whether the nearby nations would declare a war. In ancient times， only those emperors who cared nothing but their own luxurious life and their beautiful wives could feel happy all day long.
Unfortunately， money seems to have become an ever-lasting question in all ages. Now that we are living in such a complex society， we can’t easily live in a simple life because there is no one who has no desire. When there is a desire， there is a problem. Once we desire to own something， or to achieve a specific goal， we are bound to feel anxious and worried. Sometimes we may be disappointed because we can’t always achieve what we desire， and that will drive us away from happiness. Such simple life mentioned before can only be enjoyed by those who have already achieved what they wanted. Once I read about an enlightening article that the Lord of Death asked a millionaire what he wanted before dying， the millionaire answered that all he needed was health. The story is written to remind us of the significance of health. However， if you ask a healthy beggar what he needs most， he will immediately answer：“Money！” That’s quite ironic. Actually， those who are chasing a simple lifestyle now have almost successfully achieved their goals. They have beautiful， considering wife and lovely children. They live in a comfortable house with a big swimming pool and have a nice branded car. They have enough money. Because they are successful in material world， they are now pursuing spiritual fulfillment. As to those who still need to rent a flat and borrow money from the bank， what they need to do is to support themselves by working and working to earn money. What is important to us？ The answer depends on different people. Wealthy groups think that health and love are important while the poor regard money as the most precious item.
To sum up， it is hard for we ordinary citizens to achieve a minimalist lifestyle. We have to focus more on the complex life now， repeating our routine work day by day so that we can pursue a simple and happy spiritual life in the future after we materialistically succeed.
【Key words】 simple life; true happiness; materialistic; spiritual life
【作者簡介】刘芝钰（1999.03-），女，江苏苏州人，苏州大学外国语学院，本科在读，英语师范专业学生。
Our society has developed rapidly in recent years， that is to say， we are now living in a complicated society. Every day we are clouded by various annoying issues. It seems that we are now， to reach a peak of our career， losing our soul. After years of hard working， when we look back on all our efforts， will we obtain true happiness？
There is no doubt that we are trapped in modern world， and our social relationship will be in danger. We now judge our success mainly by what we possess. What people affected by American commercialism are apt to believe the false idea that to possess is to be happy. On account of this， we may feel jealous when we find that someone else has already owned what we want， which do harm to our social relationship. In the Holy Bible， Gain killed his brother Abe for his brother gained God’s appreciation. When jealous is grown in our mind， the flower of hatred may bloom， so that we will never be happy. What’s more， chasing what we wanted to possess such as luxurious commodity， social position and good reputation also has no good for our relationship， because we seem to be distant from our family. It does no good to couples as well as the growth of children. I once read about a story that a child was left in his hometown with his grandparents while his parents were working in a metropolis far away. When his parents came back to spend their Spring Festival holiday with him， the poor kid simply couldn’t realize that the man and the woman sitting near him were his dearest Dad and Mom. What a pity！
That’s what many people opposed. Instead， they call upon a simple lifestyle so that we can obtain true happiness. However， we cannot easily achieve， from my point of view， this lifestyle. It seems a little bit cruel， but I think this is real life for the majority of citizens can’t achieve a balance between their material and spiritual life.
As Sophie faced with the question that who she is in Sophie’s world， I am confronted with the question： What is important in our life？ The author mentioned in the passage that we can have more freedom to live and improve as long as we get rid of all but the essentials. But what is exactly important to us？ What are the essentials？ It is hard to answer， but I assume that the essentials are the glittering aspects of humanity such as benevolence， honesty， politeness， wisdom， etc. We modern citizens still have such personalities nowadays， but why we still feel empty in our heart？ Some believe that it is modern technology and various kinds of products that keep us away from living a happy life. To some degree， it is true. It has become a common phenomenon that people tend to spend more time on their smart phones. We chat online， do some shopping online， read online， etc. Even the children are spending more time than before using phones or iPads to play games. However， technology isn’t what to blame. Did those， who live in the past， without high-tech products feel happy？ Suppose that you live in hundreds of years ago， can you obtain happiness and feel no worry because there were no dizzying advanced products？ The answer is obviously NO. Our ancestors still had to worry， but unlike what we worried today， they worried more about how they could survive and support the family. They kept working from dawn to night， raising crops to feed their family members. Sometimes they even suffer from famine or floods. Their lifestyle was simple， but they couldn’t stop worrying. Emperors also worried. They worried about whether their people had enough food to eat and clothes to wear and whether the nearby nations would declare a war. In ancient times， only those emperors who cared nothing but their own luxurious life and their beautiful wives could feel happy all day long.
Unfortunately， money seems to have become an ever-lasting question in all ages. Now that we are living in such a complex society， we can’t easily live in a simple life because there is no one who has no desire. When there is a desire， there is a problem. Once we desire to own something， or to achieve a specific goal， we are bound to feel anxious and worried. Sometimes we may be disappointed because we can’t always achieve what we desire， and that will drive us away from happiness. Such simple life mentioned before can only be enjoyed by those who have already achieved what they wanted. Once I read about an enlightening article that the Lord of Death asked a millionaire what he wanted before dying， the millionaire answered that all he needed was health. The story is written to remind us of the significance of health. However， if you ask a healthy beggar what he needs most， he will immediately answer：“Money！” That’s quite ironic. Actually， those who are chasing a simple lifestyle now have almost successfully achieved their goals. They have beautiful， considering wife and lovely children. They live in a comfortable house with a big swimming pool and have a nice branded car. They have enough money. Because they are successful in material world， they are now pursuing spiritual fulfillment. As to those who still need to rent a flat and borrow money from the bank， what they need to do is to support themselves by working and working to earn money. What is important to us？ The answer depends on different people. Wealthy groups think that health and love are important while the poor regard money as the most precious item.
To sum up， it is hard for we ordinary citizens to achieve a minimalist lifestyle. We have to focus more on the complex life now， repeating our routine work day by day so that we can pursue a simple and happy spiritual life in the future after we materialistically succeed.