David Whyte: A lyrical bridge between past, present and future
ديفيد وايت: الجسر الغنائي بين الماضي والحاضر والمستقبل
David Whyte writes at the intersection of interior and exterior worlds, what he calls the conversational nature of reality, bringing new territory into view with his distinctly personal style. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
perspective on the future --
all those three tenses together
that the poet, in many ways,
"the conversational nature of reality."
"الطبيعة التخاطبية للواقع".
nature of reality?
of reality is the fact
in a marriage or a love relationship,
أو من علاقة حب،
who work for you or with you,
الذين يعملون لك أو تعملون معهم،
as you would like it to happen.
our child, our colleague,
between what you think is you
and what we call the world
where things are real.
حيث الأمور حقيقية.
at this conversational frontier,
في هذه الحدود التخاطبية،
in one strategy or another.
في وضع خطة بارعة أو أي شيء آخر.
border at the moment,
an international flight
حضرتُ على متن طائرة دولية
spiritually mature.
with the rest of humanity, in fact.
with your shirt collar out
مرتديًا قميصًا ذات ياقة خارجية
looked at my passport
nature of reality."
and philosopher only go so far.
about his marriage.
the row of officers
at this conversational frontier
of my Irish niece,
ابنة أخي/أختي الإيرلندية
on the western coast of Spain,
من أسبانيا،
she's just walked 500 miles
وسارت لتوها 500 ميلًا
on the French side of the Pyrenees,
من الجانب الفرنسي لجبال البرانس،
old and contemporary pilgrimage
والمشهور جدًا،
de Compostela --
people living there
as you're coming into town.
حال وصولكم المدينة.
a memento of your journey.
لرحلتكم الدينية.
of going on for three more days
لثلاثة أيام أخرى
called, in Spanish, Finisterre,
ويسمى بالإسبانية فينستري،
meaning "the ends of the earth,"
turns into the future.
from the University of Sligo
من جامعة سليغو
the major corporations of the world
في العالم
in corporations all over the world
في جميع أنحاء العالم
prepare you for the adult --
interested in that, anyway.
على أية حال.
I want to become a dramatist.
أريدُ ان أكون كاتبة مسرح.
in order to give myself some courage,
بعض الشجاعة،
moment you had on the whole Camino,
شعرتِ بها في طريق كامينو بالكامل،
moment was post-Camino,
ما بعد كامينو،
and come to this cliff edge.
من سانتياغو ووقفتُ على حافة هذا المنحدر.
a tapas plate of scallops" --
من سرطانات البحر"
the icon and badge of your walk,
والعلامة المميزة لسيركم،
that you have seen along that way
بهذا الشكل
a scallop shell.
when you feel unbesieged,
عندما تشعرون بأنكم غير محاصرون،
that brings you to this place?
التي تحضركم إلى هذا المكان؟
something that you've brought.
أحضرتموه معكم.
and two postcards."
a traumatic text, you know?
or you write one there,
أو كتابتها هناك.
what is on those letters and postcards.
ما تحوية الرسالة والبطاقات البريدية.
that is now no longer extant, yeah?
الذي لم يعد له وجود اليوم، أليس كذلك؟
are large piles of clothes.
"What did you leave at the cliff edge?"
ماذا تركتِ على حافة المنحدر؟"
that I walked in, actually.
I loved those boots,
after seven weeks of walking.
من السير.
the sun was going down,
عندما انحدرت الشمس إلى أسفل،
by the dying sun in such a powerful way
عن طريق غياب الشمس في هذه الطريقة القوية
had dropped below the horizon,
إلى ما وراء الأفق،
walking across the Atlantic,
وهو يسيرُ عبر الأطلسي،
going into the future.'
إلى المستقبل.
the sun was falling further.
بأن الشمس كانت تنحدرُ أكثر.
I had on the whole Camino
وأنا أسيرُ كامينو بأكمله
had to walk across that unknown sea
السير عبر ذلك البحر المجهول
at breakfast time.
for Marlene McCormack.
taking the path the sun had taken
يكتظُ الممر وتهبطُ الشمس
taking the path the run had taken
يكتظُ الممر وتهبطُ الشمس
taking the path the sun had taken
يكتظُ الممر وتهبط الشمس
going where shadows go,
والذهاب حيثُ تذهب الظلال،
that wouldn't let you pass
الذي منعك من العبور
to the way you had come,
on the late western light;
على الضوء الغربي الأخير،
to promise all along
للتعهد المستمر
to promise all along,
لللتعهد المستمر
that brought you here
her third play performed
at the sum of all of our endeavors.
في مجمل محاولاتنا.
you've set for yourself,
التي وضعتموها لأنفسكم
to the consummation of all your goals.
about walking into your life,
إلى حياتكم،
three abiding illusions
with you since the beginning of time.
منذ بداية التاريخ.
is that you can somehow construct a life
أنكم تستطيعون بطريقة أو بأخرى بناء حياة
to all of the difficulties
في مأمن من كل الصعوبات
since the beginning of time.
of, first, incipience,
to begin with, disappearance,
full disappearance.
"That's beautiful,
"هذا جميل،
of the equation, please?
لو سمحت؟
for the new cycle to come around."
لتأتي هنا وهناك."
are at war with reality
in which I will not have my heart broken.
we start to do it.
of a new romance or a new marriage,
أو زواج جديد،
who will not break my heart."
for that exact core competency.
لهذه الأهلية الأساسية بالضبط.
the perfect mother and father."
"سأكون أمًا أو أبًا مثالية."
anything spectacular or dramatic.
بأي شيء مذهل أو محزن.
spectacular or dramatic --
أو محزن
as spies and saboteurs for years,
exactly where to place it?"
professional personalities
والمهنية
heart broken in work.
from here to there.
relationship with reality.
of having our hearts broken
that we deeply care about.
التي نهتم بها بعمق.
and arrange things
وتنظيم الأمور
the path to the end
in which that would be true
حيث سيكون ذلك حقيقية
would take the path away from you.
عن طريقك.
to the beginning all at the same time.
في نفس الوقت.
spiritual traditions,
in the ground of your life fully,
على أرضية حياتك بأكملها،
into a strategic future
داخل المستقبل المخطط له
from present heartbreak;
من الحزن الراهن،
in the ground of your life
that is pulling you --
the way you should take
الممر الذي عليك سيره
the way you should take,
الممر الذي عليك سيره
حينما اعتقدت بأنك ستسقط،
when you thought you would fall,
when you thought you would fall,
حينما اعتقدت بأنك ستسقط،
the way that carried you into your future,
الممر الذي حملك إلى مستقبلك،
had to take your promise from you,
يسلبك وعودك،
had to break your heart along the way:
على طول الطريق
from deep inside yourself
both inside you and far beyond you,
وبعيدًا عنك كثيرًا،
became a prayer for safe arrival,
للوصول الآمن،
had actually already happened
had actually already happened
in which you lived before you began,
حيثُ عشت قبل أن تبدأ
and the mind and the promise
and then drew you on,
وثم اعتمدت عليها،
in your simple wish to find a way
في رغبتك الواضحة للعثور على الطريق
of any destination you could reach
من الوصول إليها
in that simple wish to find a way
في رغبتك الواضحة للعثور على الطريق
of any destination you could reach:
لأي مكانٍ تمكنت من الوصول إليه
might be a city with golden domes,
مدينةً ذات قباب ذهبية،
was the end of the road,
beneath the face looking back
you had sought forever
you had sought forever,
that beckoned you beyond;
يفتحُ أمامك،
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
David Whyte - Poet, authorDavid Whyte writes at the intersection of interior and exterior worlds, what he calls the conversational nature of reality, bringing new territory into view with his distinctly personal style.
Why you should listen
David Whyte grew up amid the grounded practicalities of Yorkshire, England, of a very imaginative, storytelling Irish mother. Not choosing between these two sides is what perhaps gave him his first insight into the complexities of human identity. He is quoted as saying that all of his poetry and philosophy is based on what he calls "the conversational nature of reality." His time as a scientist and naturalist fuide in the Galapagos Islands led him to explore what he calls the frontier nature of human identity. Whyte draws from this diverse background and a deep philosophical curiosity to craft poetry and prose that is at once highly relatable, yet altogether new. His work spans the worlds of literature, philosophy and organizational leadership, making him a clear, wise voice in an increasingly complex world.
His books include The Sea in You: Twenty Poems of Requited and Unrequited Love; The Three Marriages: Reimagining Work, Self and Relationship; River Flow: New & Selected Poems; Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words and Pilgrim.
David Whyte | Speaker | TED.com