Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Far away in the sunshine are my aspirations

Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.



Louisa May Alcott from Elbert Hubbard's Scrap Book: Containing the Inspired and Inspiring Selections, Gathered During a Lifetime of Discriminating Reading for His Own Use


Far away in the sunshine are my aspirations

Elbert Hubbard was, like most of us, a gatherer. He gathered up the spoken thoughts and wisdom of other men and women and this quest lead him far and wide. It was the quest he enjoyed and the thoughts of other writers we remember.

I see their beauty, I believe in them

"Deux fois plus deficile," Twice, my French instructor would say to me, language is translated, first by the author in putting words to paper, and twice by the translator who interprets the subtlety of thought into a foreign language. Context, he continues, gives meaning to the words.

Loin dans le soleil sont mes aspirations plus grand. Je ne peut pas les atteindre, mais je peux les regarder et je peut voir leur beauté, croire en eux, et essayez de suivre où ils me emportent. 





I try to follow where they lead


There is, to my instructor I reply, a third translation, for the lonely the reader seeks understanding from the words, but the path is a solitary one, and one is thankful for the direction.