Créixer / Masá'il

This week I've been reading a novel in Catalan called Tots els ports es diuen Helena by Joan Barril. I'm 65 pages in, and I'm really enjoying it so far. The other night, I read a few passages that I liked so much that I got out of bed to write them down in my notebook:

"Un dia vaig voler saber com eren els Reis i quan vaig treure el cap per la porta de la sala vaig descobrir la mare embolicant regals. Vaig maleir la meva curiositat, perquè a vegades el plaer del misteri és infinitament més gran que la certesa de tal com són les coses. Però la temptació de saber la veritat sempre és massa gran. Créixer és no negar-se a buscar."

"Créixer deu voler dir explorar i acceptar la vida tal com l'anem descobrint, fent-li preguntes amb la mateixa naturalitat amb què la vida ens dóna respostes."

Translated into English:

"One day, I wanted to find out what the Three Wise Men looked like, and when I peeked my head into the living room, I discovered my mother wrapping presents. I cursed my curiosity, because sometimes the thrill of mystery is infinitely greater than being certain about how things really are. But the temptation to know the truth is always even greater. To grow up is to not refuse to search."

"Growing up must mean exploring and accepting life as we find it, asking questions just as naturally as life gives us answers."

I didn't realize it at the time, but it is a very befitting concept to be pondering at the beginning of the Bahá'í month of Masá'il (Questions).

A Flag of Hands

A friend brought it to my attention that Juanes has a new album. One of the songs on it is called Bandera de Manos. Since I couldn't find an adequate translation of it into English, I decided to try my hand at it: (ha!)

A FLAG OF HANDS (Bonus Version)
Juanes, La Vida Es un Ratico

Let’s all make a flag
A flag with black hands
A flag with white hands
For a better world

Right now, let’s all make a flag
A flag with mixed hands
A flag with immigrant hands
For a better world

We’re tired of hearing
The same old outworn stories
Tired of so many unfulfilled promises
Let’s lift up our souls and voices

Let’s hold a demonstration of love
Show that war is no excuse to continue like this
Burning the skin of your hands,
Which are my hands
Of your soul, which is as my soul

How ironic life can be:
While thousands die of hunger
Our leaders buy arsenal and sow agony

Let’s all make one flag together
Let’s all break down barriers
For a better world
Right now, let’s sow peace
More justice, more dignity
Freedom, equality
For a better world

The original Spanish lyrics can be found here.

Flying

It was a blustery autumn day in Barcelona
The wind carried me on my boomerang
Past fallen palm branches
And motorcycles, lying in the fetal position on the pavement

Dried leaves scattering about
Sign posts wobbling to and fro
I zoom by effortlessly
Down the diagonal

Door County Syndrome

Those who know me well know that I put a lot of thought into most decisions, big or small. Whether picking classes, deciding on a paper topic, spending a gift certificate, or choosing tea, I usually take longer than normal to make up my mind. I even caught myself recently spending entirely too much time in the bottled water aisle at the supermarket. There were so many to choose from!

My dad has labelled this phenomenon "Door County Syndrome" and calls me on it from time to time. Many years ago, when I was younger, during a family camping trip to Door County, Wisconsin, we visited an ice cream shop that offered so many wonderful flavors. I probably vacillated for fifteen minutes trying to decide which one I wanted.

I was reminded of my syndrome when I read this yesterday, in a post on lifehack.org:

Embrace limits: There can be no creativity without limits. Sounds strange, but limits are the cause and reason of creativity...

Infinite choice is paralyzing; limits give us something to work with — or against — so we can at least get started.

The truth and wisdom in these words is astounding. Here are some examples of ways in which I embrace this philosophy:

1) Vegetarianism - After 8+ years of not eating meat, being a vegetarian has become very much my modus operandi, and it's mostly inertia that keeps me going. But from time to time I am reminded of the actual reasons why I restrict my diet thus. It's potentially healthier, better for the environment, less gross, etc. Another positive aspect, however, is that at restaurants it drastically reduces the number of menu items that I have to decide between. Sometimes it is a bummer when there are few or no veggie options, but I do a lot better with 4 choices than with 24.

2) Translation - I think one of the main reasons why I am so attracted to translation is that it allows for an incredible amount of creativity, but within bounds. The translator is very much a writer--he can and must be resourceful, play with words, re-express ideas in any of a number of ways, and exploit the subtleties of language, with one key restriction: the meaning of the original text must be preserved. Thus, I can write (which I have always enjoyed) without having to deal with the unpleasant "what am I going to write about" stage. Score!

Another area in which this concept of infinity vs. limits comes into play is entirely open-ended questions, which I abhor. I don't need you to formulate everything as a "yes" or "no" question, but give me something to work with, geez!