Jorge
Luis Borges
More
and More people are becoming monolingual or learning only their mother tongue
and English (which most use just to communicate for business or travel), and
forget about the abundant sea of knowledge of other languages, especially the
writers and artists and poets who work in that language. Of course if you are
not interested in the literature of your own language, there is a chance you
wont be interested it the literature of another language.
I
have been very lucky to be able to read, write and communicate well in English,
with a special love for this language. Many languages have appeared in my
horizon and each one has contributed something or other, even though they have
not been “useful in business or travel”, such as Swedish or Malay.
The
languages, which had great influence on my way of looking at the world, have
been Spanish and French. Spanish gave me ornamentation to my life and through
Spanish I entered the world of Portugese and the magnificent literature from
Lusitanian diaspora (Couto, Amado just two examples). French gave me an
appreciation of the breadth of the human intellectual capacity and who could
not be influenced by Michel Foucault, Gilles de Leuze and Jacques Derrida?
The
softness and sweetness of life was held in Spanish, a language I absolutely
love to speak and in fact, I spend half my time speaking Spanish or visiting Spanish-speaking
countries. Argentina being a favourite.
On
my very first visit to Buenos Aires, I remember buying a book: Buenos Aires
through the eyes of Jorge Luis Borges… a clever pun, Borges becoming blind later
in his life. It showed the BA that JLB had enjoyed and many years later I was
to have a hair cut in the peluqueria owned by a Lesbian from Matanzas along the
Jorge Luis Borges Street!
This
morning someone sent me a small paragraph of JLB’s words and I thought of its relevance
to my life. I am in France and passing an exceptionally pleasant time here.
This photo of Palermo Soho is courtesy of TripAdvisor
JLB
says:
I learned to live and enjoy every detail, I
learned from mistakes but I do not live thinking about them, because they are
always a bitter memory that prevents you from continuing Therefore, there are
irremediable errors. And do not try too hard, that the best things in life
happen when you least expect them. Do not look for them, they look for you. The
best is yet to come.
Aprendí
a vivir y disfrutar cada detalle, aprendí de los errores pero no vivo pensando
en ellos, pues siempre suelen ser un recuerdo amargo que te impide seguir
adelante, pues, hay errores irremediables. Y no te esfuerces demasiado, que las
mejores cosas de la vida suceden cuando menos te las esperas. No las busques,
ellas te buscan. Lo mejor está por venir.
So for
my friends, new and old, far and near, speaking other languages than English or
Spanish, I want to say to you.
Do
not look for them, they look for you. The best is yet to come.
