Sunday, November 18, 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Saudade
A Portuguese word which has no direct translation but can be roughly translated as "a feeling of longing for something that one is fond of, which is gone, but might return in a distant future. It often carries a fatalist tone and a repressed knowledge that the object of longing might really never return."
"The famous saudade of the Portuguese is a vague and constant desire for something that does not and probably cannot exist, for something other than the present, a turning towards the past or towards the future; not an active discontent or poignant sadness but an indolent dreaming wistfulness." -A.F.G. Bell
"Saudade is different than nostalgia (the English word, that is). In nostalgia, one has a mixed happy and sad feeling, a memory of happiness but a sadness for its impossible return and sole existence in the past. Saudade is like nostalgia but with the hope that what is being longed for might return, even if that return is unlikely or so distant in the future to be almost of no consequence to the present. One might make a strong analogy with nostalgia as a feeling one has for a loved one who has died and saudade as a feeling one has for a loved one who has disappeared or is simply currently absent. Nostalgia is located in the past and is somewhat conformist while saudade is very present, anguishing, anxious and extends into the future. In Portuguese, the same word nostalgia has quite a different meaning."
"Although it relates to feelings of melancholy and fond memories of things/people/days gone by, it can be a rush of sadness coupled with a paradoxical joy derived from acceptance of fate and the hope of recovering or substituting what is lost by something that will either fill in the void or provide consolation."
"Saudade is, therefore, one of the deepest human feelings, and the greatness of its power is exactly that it transcends itself, creating other feelings, which, by their turn, stimulate men. And that’s certainly one of the difficulties of translating or even grasping the philosophical significance of saudade: saudade becomes greater and deeper while illuminating other feelings, but it also becomes more difficult to understand it."
"The famous saudade of the Portuguese is a vague and constant desire for something that does not and probably cannot exist, for something other than the present, a turning towards the past or towards the future; not an active discontent or poignant sadness but an indolent dreaming wistfulness." -A.F.G. Bell
"Saudade is different than nostalgia (the English word, that is). In nostalgia, one has a mixed happy and sad feeling, a memory of happiness but a sadness for its impossible return and sole existence in the past. Saudade is like nostalgia but with the hope that what is being longed for might return, even if that return is unlikely or so distant in the future to be almost of no consequence to the present. One might make a strong analogy with nostalgia as a feeling one has for a loved one who has died and saudade as a feeling one has for a loved one who has disappeared or is simply currently absent. Nostalgia is located in the past and is somewhat conformist while saudade is very present, anguishing, anxious and extends into the future. In Portuguese, the same word nostalgia has quite a different meaning."
"Although it relates to feelings of melancholy and fond memories of things/people/days gone by, it can be a rush of sadness coupled with a paradoxical joy derived from acceptance of fate and the hope of recovering or substituting what is lost by something that will either fill in the void or provide consolation."
"Saudade is, therefore, one of the deepest human feelings, and the greatness of its power is exactly that it transcends itself, creating other feelings, which, by their turn, stimulate men. And that’s certainly one of the difficulties of translating or even grasping the philosophical significance of saudade: saudade becomes greater and deeper while illuminating other feelings, but it also becomes more difficult to understand it."
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The previous quotes from various research I did this evening was inspired by a conversation I just had with my roommate, Caitlin. She speaks Portuguese and was telling me about Saudade and how english doesn't have a word for it. Have you ever heard the piece Kol Nidrei? We happened to be listening to it as we discussed Saudade. It's melodies paint a musical portrait of the essence of Saudade.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
the garden and a plentiful Harvest
Who knew that SAU's Community Garden would provide opportunities such as caroling in October laden with packages of Collard Greens, Arugula, Kale, and much much more!
The harvest of our garden reminds me of another Harvest.
It is interesting to note that sometimes Biblical Harvest represents the gathering in of the righteous and other times it represents the cutting or trimming of the wicked. Examples of the latter:
"And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sad on the could, 'Thrust Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for you to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.' So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped." -Revelation 14:14-16 (More in verses 17-20)
"For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: 'The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor when it is time to thresh her; yet a little while and the time of her harvest will come.' " -Jeremiah 51:33
When we were at the garden on Monday, I was circumspectly picking the outermost Arugula leafs when Luke came over and starting ripping them off in a much harsher manner than I. He then stated that the Arugula was tremendously overgrown and needed to be immensely truncated in order to grow back smaller leaves that are good for salads.
When sin gets overgrown in our life, we need to be pruned or harvested. It hurts and is uncomfortable but when it is over, we can grow back tender Godly characteristics that are perfect for His salad of work.
And now for some examples of the former type of Harvest:
"Jesus said to them, 'My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labors.' " -John 4:34-38
"Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.' " -Matthew 9:37,38
"And He said, 'The Kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.' " -Mark 4:26-29
"For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by who it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned." -Hebrews 6:7,8
A vision of the church: "Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. they will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine." -Ezekiel 47:12
The harvest of our garden reminds me of another Harvest.
It is interesting to note that sometimes Biblical Harvest represents the gathering in of the righteous and other times it represents the cutting or trimming of the wicked. Examples of the latter:
"And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sad on the could, 'Thrust Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for you to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.' So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped." -Revelation 14:14-16 (More in verses 17-20)
"For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: 'The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor when it is time to thresh her; yet a little while and the time of her harvest will come.' " -Jeremiah 51:33
When we were at the garden on Monday, I was circumspectly picking the outermost Arugula leafs when Luke came over and starting ripping them off in a much harsher manner than I. He then stated that the Arugula was tremendously overgrown and needed to be immensely truncated in order to grow back smaller leaves that are good for salads.
When sin gets overgrown in our life, we need to be pruned or harvested. It hurts and is uncomfortable but when it is over, we can grow back tender Godly characteristics that are perfect for His salad of work.
And now for some examples of the former type of Harvest:
"Jesus said to them, 'My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labors.' " -John 4:34-38
"Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.' " -Matthew 9:37,38
"And He said, 'The Kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.' " -Mark 4:26-29
Then let the Harvest continue!
"For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by who it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned." -Hebrews 6:7,8
A vision of the church: "Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. they will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine." -Ezekiel 47:12
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