fire

hand up high

I hold my hand up high acknowledging I’ve recently failed to meet my self-appointed goals with blogging. One is my long-standing goal to post once a week, and the other is a more recent goal to translate and post once a week an essay from Galeano’s book ‘The children of the days.’

on pause

no head space or heart

January 2016 was a month of good byes and transition — moving house (and countries), hound and ourselves from London to Valencia, Spain. This was the fifth sort of big, (‘big’ as in get rid of nearly everything I own and start fresh), international move I’ve done in my life, yet the process was more difficult than I remembered or anticipated. I simply haven’t had the head space or heart to blog.

But I’m still here and recovering – my head space, heart and goals. It wasn’t an end, just a long pause. So here’s another Galeano essay, appropriately enough about doing one’s best until the very end.

 

31 december:  the voyage of the word

In the year 208, in Rome, Serenus Sammonicus wrote a book titled ‘Secrets’ where he shared his discoveries about the art of healing.

abracadabra, be healthy and sound

Serenus, doctor to two emperors, a poet and owner of the best library of its time, suggested among other remedies an unfailing cure for tertian fever and how to keep death at bay: by hanging one word on their chest people would be protected night and day.

That word was Abracadabra, which in ancient Hebrew meant and still means ‘give your fire until the end.’

 

 

31 de diciembre:  el viaje de la palabara

En el año 208, Serenus Sammonicus escribió en Roma un libro ‘Asuntos Secretos’, donde revelaba sus descubrimientos en el arte de la sanación.

Este médico de dos emperadores, poeta, dueño de la mejor biblioteca de su tiempo, proponía, etre otros remedios, un infalible método para evitar la fiebre terciana y espantar la muerte: había que colgarse al pecho una palabra y protegerse con ella noche y día.

Era la palabra Abracadabra, que en hebreo antiguo quería decier, y sigue diciendo: Envía tu fuego hasta el final.

want to know more?

• 

  goals guide and transform

  1 January — today

• 3 January — walking memory
• 21 January — walk on water
• 22 March — world water day
• 28 April — this insecure world
• Who has the land?
• 4 December —green memories
• 12 December —Tonantzín is called Guadalupe
• 26 December — journey to the sea