Things that seem true

Phrase of the day:

"La alma es un verbo. No es un sustantivo."

or

"The soul is a verb. Not a noun."
... from The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, by David Mitchell


David Mitchell is absolutely my favorite author right now, introduced to me a year or two ago by a good friend. He´s a brilliant writer, and has this extraordinary knack for coining pithy and memorable phrases that sound true, or at least point at truth. Or at the very least are provocative.

The phrase above (hopefully somewhat accurately translated to Spanish) is spoken by a doctor, in response to an age-old question posed by the book´s protagonist: Where is the soul? The answer is definitely a rationalist's hedge; the soul is not something that the scientific method is going to locate and quantify any time soon, and no doubt early anatomists looked long and hard for it in their autopsies. I think the pineal gland was thought to be the seat of the soul for a long time, but I don´t remember that being taught in neuroanatomy. In any case, even if you believe in the soul, I imagine that you don't conceive of it as glandular, exactly.

But I like the answer, and it seems to me to be more than a rationalist's hedge in a lot of respects. Mostly, I like it because it implies that the soul exists but is changeable. We have care of it; we have responsibility for it. What we do, what we learn, what we strive for, what we devote ourselves to, how we behave towards and with others - it seems that these are born of and in turn shape the soul. At least if it´s true that the soul is a verb, rather than a noun.

Sorry this post is in something of a speculative vein. Mostly, I just liked the phrase and wanted to share it. Discuss amongst yourselves!

Briefly, in other news, I booked my Macchu Picchu hiking excursion today, with a departure date of March 2nd. I also spent about 20 minutes in a shop here that sells classical guitars, and came close to buying one. Most of the time I spent under the somewhat skeptical eye of the shopkeeper, trying unsuccessfully to tune a classical guitar against the background hustle and bustle of the streets of Cusco. It´s hard, you should try it sometime. I decided against purchasing one, since I have no idea how to string a classical guitar, and truthfully have enough to occupy my time otherwise. However, I miss playing, more than I expected.

Be well, everyone!