“Water, is taught by thirst. Land — by the Oceans passed. Transport — by throe — Peace — by its battles told — Love, by Memorial Mold — Birds, by the Snow.“ – Emily Dickinson We only learn the real value of things when we lose them. Only when we are thirsty can we truly appreciate Water. People who survive a shipwreck get to know … Continue reading Emily Dickinson’s Lesson On The Real Value Of Things | Art of Saudade
You know that frustrating feeling when you try your best but you don’t succeed? When you get what you want, but not what you need? Alright, I’ll stop quoting Chris Martin. But we’ve all been through this, right? There are high chances that you’re going through it right now. Social pressure, expectations versus reality, dreams taking time to manifest… These are hard times for dreamers. … Continue reading Beckett’s Art of Failure: Fail again. Fail better | Art of Saudade
“Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.” Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet (1929) In his Letters to a Young Poet, the Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke transforms our traditional idea … Continue reading Dragons and Princesses: Rilke’s ideas of beauty and courage
When we read history, we usually perceive the historical events as something that happened a long time ago which doesn’t concern us. We rarely empathize with the people who went through difficult times, forgetting that it was the destiny of our ancestors and neglecting their real stories. Moreover, we tend to forget that history repeats itself, sometimes in different forms, but it never ceases to … Continue reading Carcassonne – A Medieval Tale | Art of Saudade
Today, I am taking you to a French medieval town whose castles and walls hide a medieval secret. Inspired by this town’s stunning architecture and history, I decided to share with you the tragic story of the Cathars, the mysterious people who lived here in the 12th century. The term Cathar Country (fr. Pays Cathare) is used to highlight the Cathar heritage and history of … Continue reading Visit the Land of the Cathars | Carcassonne, France | Art of Saudade
“One open way of speaking introduces another open way of speaking and draws out discoveries, like wine and love.” – Michel de Montaigne What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of France? Paris, the Eiffel Tower, croissants, and all the clichés…?Never-ending protests and strikes? You got that right too! Check out my posts on my Erasmus experience in France … Continue reading Bordeaux, the City of Wine and Love | Bordeaux, France | Art of Saudade
Is it possible to discover one of France’s biggest cities in only one day?This means you need to walk its streets, taste its local food, visit its most iconic historical monuments… in less than 24 hours. I decided to see how much I can enjoy Toulouse in one day and I’m quite content with everything I got to experience there. I am telling you already, … Continue reading Get The Most Out Of Toulouse In One Day | Toulouse, France | Art of Saudade
January is without doubt one of the coldest months in Europe. As I am not a fan of winters and being traumatized by a bad ski experience (no, I didn’t break my leg), I definitely tend to avoid popular winter destinations. If you ask me, I’d rather escape the rough European winter and travel to some tropical country, but I find millions of good excuses, … Continue reading My Not So Usual Trip In January | Biarritz, France | Art of Saudade
I believe in love at first read. Rumi’s poems always felt like a healing balm to my soul. I remember the day I realized I couldn’t rely on English translations of Rumi’s works. I was like Rumi in this picture. We know that no translation can ever replace the original and we are unfortunately unable to learn all the languages in the world. Many literary … Continue reading Rumi: Lost in translation
Have you spotted any mystical elements in T.S. Eliot’s poetry? Four Quartets, a set of four poems published in 1943, is one of Eliot’s biggest masterpieces and poetic meditations. Time present and time past Are both perhaps present in time future, And time future contained in time past. If all time is eternally present All time is unredeemable. What might have been is an abstraction … Continue reading T.S. Eliot and Sufism
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