SZ @ New York
Old Chase Building in Financial District, New York
A little over a year ago, I was reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Since English is not my native language, I don’t read many English novels as I am always frustrated with the feeling not being able to capture nuances.
However, I was deeply moved by The Alchemist. There is one paragraph in the preface so powerful, that I wrote it down in my note book (a real one made of paper), translated it into Chinese and shared with my best friend, a professional editor for a publishing house in Beijing.
The paragraph goes like this:
In the silence of our hearts, we know that we are proving ourselves worthy of the miracle of life. Each day, each hour, is part of the good fight. We start to live with enthusiasm and pleasure. Intense, unexpected sufferings pass more quickly than suffering that is apparently bearable; the latter goes on for years and, without our noticing, eats away at our soul, until, one day, we are no longer able to free ourselves from the bitterness and it stays with us for the rest of our lives.
My translation goes like below:
静谧的内心深处，我们深知 自己必得证明不枉这生命的奇迹。每一天，每一个小时，都是这场卓绝战斗的一部分。我们的生命始于激情与欢愉。强烈而意外的痛苦远比可以轻易容忍的痛苦消逝 得迅速；后者延续多年，在不知不觉间蚕噬我们灵魂，直至有一天，我们再无可能从这痛苦中解脱——它将伴随我们的余生。
One day, I came across a surprising discovery while I was randomly looking through an old manuscript of a novel, titled “Departure from Afar”(《从远方出发》), that I started years ago and still yet to finish. It opens with the following:
“没有比在最平凡的生活中看到意义更重要的事情了。并不是所有的人都能遭遇伟大的时刻，抵抗自然的突然来袭，与无人想象的困难作斗争——无人想象的困难在每一天的沉默中：在这里，存在如此轻而易举，其意义却如此渺茫，折磨着时时思考意义的人们。
Nothing is more important than seeking meanings through the most ordinary life. Not everyone encounters great moments, fights against an unexpected disaster imposed by nature, or struggles with unimaginable challenges. For most people, unimaginable challenges only exist silently in daily lives. There, the existence itself is easy, while the meaning fades every day, which troubles people with a burning quest seeking the meaning of life. ”
A dialogue completed, which explains why I was so moved by The Alchemist. (BTW: Did I mention it was translated into English from Portuguese?).
3/5/16
Astoria, NY