THE MEDITATIONS / 《沉思录》

(after Marcus Aurelius)

“To be strong enough to endure,

yet clear enough to remain awake —

this is the mark of a soul whole and unconquerable.”

This book will never leave me.

It is one I will carry to the end of my life,

and one I will never truly finish.

It lies by my bedside,

year after year,

quiet and constant —

a witness to my shifting seasons.

What I once could not understand,

I now begin to see.

What I once could not feel,

I now sense in the author’s silence between lines.

Every time I read The Meditations,

it reads me back —

differently.

It is not a book you “complete,”

but a mirror you grow into.

A conversation that never ends.

🕯️ Kisa Li, on “The Meditations”

《沉思录》

一方面能足够强健地承受，

另一方面又能保持清醒的品质——

正是一颗完善而不可战胜的灵魂的标志。

这本书，是我一生都不会舍弃的。

也是一辈子也读不完的书。

它静静地躺在我的床头，

年复一年，陪我入眠。

每一次翻开，

都像是与另一个自己对话。

过去读不懂的句子，如今渐渐明白；

过去不理解的情绪，如今也能体会。

每一年的我，都在重读同一本书，

却再也不是同一个读者。

《沉思录》不是一本“看完”的书，

它更像一面镜子，

照见每一次成长的轮廓，

也照见灵魂的回声。