有心人能坚持写下日记，日日记录，到时回头还能翻回去，某一年某一天，字字句句都在纸上，能唤起记忆。
Some of us resort to writing diaries as an antidote to forgetfulness, recording every interesting moment as well as everyday trifles, so that they can go back later and replay scenes from bygone days.
也有人记忆超群，过了多少年，还能细数某时某地某事，让人惊叹。
But diary writing requires an unusual level of commitment.
Others seem blessed with an uncanny ability to recount the most intricate details of past events despite the passage of years, leaving us amazed.
但大部分的我们呢？
What about most of us? used to keep a diary.
我曾记过一阵日记，从开始的日日记，到后来的隔日记，再到后来的不知隔多少日记，终于有一天把日记本尘封在写字台的某个抽屉角落里了。
At first wrote entries daily, Then every other day, and then at long intervals before threw in the towel and consigned my diary to the innermost corner of one of my desk drawers.
我也曾与好友仔细回想，在何时何地哪一个场合第一次遇见，却相顾茫然。
The absence of a functioning mnemonic renders many past experiences irretrievable.
The other day, a couple of my old buddies and struggled to recall when and where we had first met- to no avail.
这样的无从查考，这样的相顾茫然，并不算得上如何特殊。
Loss of information stored in our minds is in fact not uncommon.
生活的大部分形态，总是碎片化的。
Our lives contain a myriad of fragments disjoined experiences, one having little or no connection with the other.
The world is a kaleidoscope, and it's hard to remember everything.
一时在东，一时在西，纷繁复杂，并不是那么容易记住的。
We thought we had etched in our minds the raging ocean waves that left us in awe before they were drowned out by a roaring river, which was in turn eclipsed by a bustling crowd in the distance -a more recent sight.
Things happen continuously.
我们记住了海潮翻腾，侧耳又听见大江大河奔涌怒吼；记住了大江大河的浪高声宏，耳边又传来远处的人声鼎沸……热点似乎一个接着一个，连时尚流行都以百倍的速度在此起彼伏，每个似乎都在沸点上翻滚。
A new hot topic moves to center stage every now and then after edging out what has been there.
New fads pop up at an exponential pace, each promising greater excitement.
可新的记忆总是一页页压过旧的，遗忘总在这样不知不觉的侧耳、挪移间发生。
As a result, new memories keep overwriting the old.
Forgetting happens quietly, subtly, and un-noticed.
而更多时候，生活的形态，又是屡屡重复的。
More often, however, life goes on in cycles.
An ancient saying claims that flowers bloom in a similar fashion year after year.
连古人都说，“年年岁岁花相似”，相似的花，相似的叶，总是最不容易区分的。
Indeed, it's often not easy to spot any differences between this year's flowers and last year's with practically identical pedals and leaves.
A telling example is the osmanthus.
我们记忆里，只留下似曾相识的影子。
While their flowers come and go, the similarity between flowers of different seasons is striking.
If a branch keeps its old posture and continues to face away from the wind, even the scars on its fruits look similar.
提过的话题要再提，理过的逻辑要再理，连听过的故事，也总在天南海北再听到相似的讲述。
Then how can we tell in which year or month the tree was planted?
Recurring patterns also accompany us on our life's journey.
“仙桂年年折又生”，如果枝头还是避着风头的朝向，连挂着的果子上的疤痕都一般，谁又能分清是哪一年、哪一月种下的树呢？
We're no stranger to feelings of déjà vu.
Nor are we inclined to shy away from bringing up an old topic, cracking an old puzzle, or listening to an old story.
若说世上事尽是重复，无疑太消极。
If we see everything in the world as simply repeating itself, we're no doubt being too negative.
而太阳每天都是新的，又高估了普通人心里的饱满度。
On the other hand, we're overestimating our sense of fulfilment if we think a new sun rises every morning.
我们在光与影里穿行，日久年深。
As we move through light and shadows, day in and day out, we can do ourselves a favor by pausing at a certain point, putting a mark there that divides our journey into distinguishable segments, reflecting on what we've been through and looking ahead to the future.
有这样一个日子，我们停下来，做一个特别的标记，把它从漫长的旅途里区别出来，想想过去，看看前程，也是对自己的一种关怀。
A solemn moment of reflection in the midst of all the noise and trivialities allows us to free ourselves from a tangled web of doubt and confusion.
在意义被怀疑、被消解的时候，有这样的庄重的一刻，反观静照，在一片喧腾或琐碎里执着地找到那份属于自己的历史感，也是一种觉醒。
A moment like this can be a trigger of awakening, a time to find our true selves.