Enriching Life

I want to challenge readers to step outside the box a bit – outside your comfort zone. You’ll never know what lies beyond your safe little bubble, until you do. Whatever that may mean for you, as it is likely different for everyone. I say this for my benefit too.

I’m not suggesting engaging in really risky things, necessarily. It could be something as simple as stepping outside your musical box, trying out some different music. Music is the universal language! It can build bridges.

I have a lot of music that I’ve acquired over the years. A LOT. Since my childhood, I’d try out different types of music – some I’d like right away, others would grow on me fairly quickly, and yet others would take years to appreciate, if at all. Yesterday evening, as it was cold here – too cold for me to want to venture out anywhere – I pulled out a cd I’d not listened to in a while. I knew I liked it, but, as I recalled, it wasn’t on my top tier. Well, I had a very delightful listening session! My opinion – or my recollection of my opinion – changed.

It was a disc by Brazilian Egberto Gismonti, titled Infância, which, in Portuguese means “childhood”. As I heard it afresh, and as I perceive the artist’s conception for the album, the music was intended to evoke the emotions of childhood and adolescence.

In any case, I was struck by a poem in the accompanying notes. I bought this particular album before my journey as a Christian began, so the poem would have meant little to me at that time; the message would have gone over my head. Not this time. It’s quite powerful poetry.

Appropriately, the poem was originally written in Portuguese, as that’s the primary language of Brazil. There’s an accompanying English translation; however, with my theological background and my rudimentary (very rudimentary) knowledge of Spanish, I had a feeling the translation didn’t quite capture the author’s intent. So, along with the aforementioned, as well as the limited help of Google Translate and other online sources, I translated the poem to English. If there are any readers who are well-versed in Portuguese, or who knows someone who is, I’d appreciate any correction or improvement (OK, I know of at least one reader who belongs in one or both these categories).

Without further ado, here is the poem in Portuguese and English:

Mensagem	The Message
(by Fernando Pessoa)
O mytho é o nada que é tudo	The myth is the nothing that is everything.
O mesmo sol que abre os céus	The very Sun that opens the heavens
É um mytho brilhante e mudo –	Is a myth brilliant yet muted –
O corpo morto de Deus,	The dead body of God,
Vivo e desnudo.	Alive and yet bare.
Este, que aqui aportou,	He, who transmigrated here,
Foi por na͂o ser existindo,	For He was – having not existed.
Sem existir nos bastou.	His not existing was sufficient for us,
Por na͂o ter vindo foi vindo	For having not yet come, He had come
E nos creou.	And created us.
Assim a lenda se escorre	Thus the legend descends,
A entrar na realidade,	To enter into reality
E a fecundal-a decorre.	And to duly enrich it.
Em baixo, a vida, metade	The life below – half
De nada, morre.	Is nothing, is dead.
Todo começo é  involuntario,	Every beginning is involuntary,
Deus é o agente.	God is the cause.
O heroe a si assiste, vario	The Hero Himself witnesses, various types
E inconsciente	Unaware
A espada em tuas ma͂os achada	To the sword in your hands –
Teu olhar desce.	Your gaze falls to it.
˵Que farei eu com esta espada?˶	What shall I do with this sword?
Ergueste-a, e fez-se	You raised it, and it was done.
As naço͂es todas sa͂o mysterios.	The nations are all mysteries.

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It’s a New Year

I figure that since Christmas has passed, and that my most recent post pertains to Christmas, I should compose a new blog post.

As is usual for the new year, I’ve only made one resolution: to not make any resolutions. I suppose then I don’t have to concern myself with breaking a resolution. Seriously, though, I make resolutions throughout the year, rather than choosing one day to pledge to do things for the following year. Having said that, one of things I’d like to do is to post more. I’m always researching and writing, working on something, and some of those remain “in the works” for quite a while.

However, since it is a new year – 2017! – I’ll offer some words of wisdom, borrowing from the late Steve Lacy, jazz soprano saxophonist, who rarely composed lyrics, though he composed a good portion of the music he performed.

Never trouble trouble
Till trouble troubles you
You’ll only trouble trouble
And trouble others too

One aspect of this could be rephrased “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” Along those lines, I’d been meaning to post something for a long time regarding the following. Years ago I began to suffer from what I believe to be gout, though it’s not been formally diagnosed. I’d get it in my ankle joints. BAD. To the point where on one particular occasion I could not leave my apartment for a week, as I just could not walk to my car. Trouble, for sure.

In any case, doing my best to eschew all pharmaceuticals, I endeavored to find a natural cure. I determined that it wasn’t so much what I was eating, but what I was not eating – enough vegetables and fruit. Since I’d never been much of a veggie eater, I figured I’d get one of those blenders that’ll chop up most anything and just throw a kitchen sink full of veggies and fruit in it, hold my nose, and gulp it down. Well, I actually discovered there were some veggies I could grow to like!

Here’s this morning’s concoction (I refrain from “smoothie”, as it sounds so, well, unmasculine – and just look at the color…):

Ingredients are:

Some raw almonds
A few brazil nuts
Juice from ½ lemon
1 carrot
About a cup of mixed greens, including spinach
A few slices of cucumber
About 10 frozen blueberries
About 10 blackberries
A few raspberries
½ banana
¼ granny smith apple
A few ice cubes
1 cup water (+ or -)
2 tsp cacao nibs
2 tsp chia seed

It’s pretty good! I usually add cinnamon, but forgot to this morning.

I initially had a drink like this twice a day – lunch was my ‘free’ meal. Once the gout flare-ups ceased, I went to once a day. Now I may go 3 or 4 times a week. But, I’ve generally been eating better over the past 3-4 years. No sodas. Ever. Only water. Well, OK, a very occasional red wine. And that’s a resolution I’ve had for years.