Thursday, February 24, 2011

A Translation of Pablo Neruda's Explanation of Why We are Taking This Trip

Pablo Neruda
Muere lentamente quien no viaja,
quien no lee,
quien no oye música
quien no encuentra gracia en sí mismo
Muere lentamente
quien destruye su amor propio,
quien no se deja ayudar.
Muere lentamente
quien se transforma en esclavo del hábito
repitiendo todos los días los mismos
trayectos,
quien no cambia de marca,
no se atreve a cambiar el color de su vestimenta
o bien no conversa con quien no conoce.
Muere lentamente
quien evita una pasión y su remolino de
emociones,
justamente éstas que regresanel brillo a los ojos
y restauran los corazones destrozados.
Muere lentamente
quien no gira el volante cuando está infeliz con
su trabajo, o su amor,
quien no arriesga lo cierto ni lo incierto para ir
atrás de un sueño
quien no se permite, ni siquiera una vez en su vida,
huir de los consejos sensatos......
¡ Vive hoy !
¡ Arriesga hoy !
¡Hazlo hoy !
¡ No te dejes morir lentamente !
¡ No te impidas ser feliz !

 He dies slowly, he who doesn't travel
who doesn't read
who doesn't listen to music
who doesn't find grace within themselves
He dies slowly
he who destroys his own love
who doesn't allow himself to be helped
He dies slowly
who transforms into a slave of habit
repeating every day the same tasks
who doesn't change his opinions
who doesn't venture to change the color of his wardrobe 
or who doesn't converse with new people
He dies slowly
who avoids passion and its flood of emotions, 
only these that return the brightness to one's eyes, 
and mend broken hearts
He dies slowly
who doesn't turn the steering wheel when he is unhappy
with his work, or his love,
who risks neither the certain nor the uncertain 
to chase a dream
who doesn't allow themselves, not even once in their lives, 
to stray from the wise advice...
Live today!
Take risks today!
Do it today!
Do not allow yourself to die slowly!
Don't keep yourself from being happy!

This is only a partial explanation. It says nothing of our love for camping, exercise, dancing, yoga, or other aspects of the trip.

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