David Whyte: A lyrical bridge between past, present and future
David Whyte: Un puente lírico entre pasado, presente y futuro
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
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perspective on the future --
sobre el futuro.
all those three tenses together
esos tres tiempos juntos
that the poet, in many ways,
en muchos sentidos,
"the conversational nature of reality."
conversacional de la realidad".
nature of reality?
conversacional de la realidad?
of reality is the fact
de la realidad es el hecho
in a marriage or a love relationship,
en un matrimonio o una relación amorosa,
who work for you or with you,
que trabajan para Uds. o con Uds.,
as you would like it to happen.
como Uds. quisieran que sucediera.
our child, our colleague,
nuestro hijo, nuestro colega,
between what you think is you
lo que uno piensa que es
and what we call the world
y lo que llamamos el mundo
where things are real.
donde las cosas son reales.
at this conversational frontier,
en esta frontera conversacional,
in one strategy or another.
en una estrategia u otra.
border at the moment,
bastante dramática en este momento,
an international flight
en un vuelo internacional
spiritually mature.
with the rest of humanity, in fact.
con el resto de la humanidad, de hecho.
with your shirt collar out
con el cuello de la camisa fuera
looked at my passport
al mirar mi pasaporte
nature of reality."
conversacional de la realidad".
and philosopher only go so far.
no llegan a tanto.
about his marriage.
sobre su matrimonio.
the row of officers
y hacia abajo la fila de oficiales
su supervisor no veía
una conversación real.
at this conversational frontier
en esta frontera conversacional
of my Irish niece,
en los zapatos de mi sobrina irlandesa,
on the western coast of Spain,
en la costa occidental de España,
she's just walked 500 miles
on the French side of the Pyrenees,
en el lado francés de los Pirineos,
old and contemporary pilgrimage
antiguo y contemporáneo
de Compostela --
Santiago de Compostela
people living there
as you're coming into town.
cuando uno llega a la ciudad.
a memento of your journey.
de venderles un recuerdo de su viaje.
of going on for three more days
de continuar durante tres días más
called, in Spanish, Finisterre,
estaba de pie y que se llama Finisterre,
meaning "the ends of the earth,"
"los extremos de la tierra"
se convierte en océano;
turns into the future.
por este camino,
de la Universidad de Sligo
from the University of Sligo
the major corporations of the world
corporaciones del mundo
en corporaciones de todo el mundo
in corporations all over the world
más te prepara para el mundo...
prepare you for the adult --
interested in that, anyway.
interesada en eso, de todos modos.
I want to become a dramatist.
quiero ser dramaturga.
in order to give myself some courage,
para darme un poco de valor,
moment you had on the whole Camino,
más significativo de todo el Camino,
momentos significativos,
más significativo fue después del Camino,
moment was post-Camino,
and come to this cliff edge.
de Santiago a este acantilado.
a tapas plate of scallops" --
un plato de tapas de vieiras",
the icon and badge of your walk,
ha sido el icono y la insignia del paseo,
that you have seen along that way
a lo largo de ese camino
a scallop shell.
debajo de una concha de vieira.
este primer ritual dice:
para llegar hasta aquí?
when you feel unbesieged,
de la vida cuando no hay asedio.
that brings you to this place?
la vida que te trae a este lugar?
something that you've brought.
quemar algo que hayas traído.
and two postcards."
"quemé una carta y dos postales".
una aplicación del Camino
a traumatic text, you know?
un texto traumático, ¿sí?
en un fuego artificial de llamas.
or you write one there,
o escribe una allí,
what is on those letters and postcards.
qué hay en esas cartas y postales.
that is now no longer extant, yeah?
que ahora ya no existe, ¿verdad?
are large piles of clothes.
hay grandes pilas de ropa.
"What did you leave at the cliff edge?"
en el borde del acantilado?
that I walked in, actually.
I loved those boots,
after seven weeks of walking.
tras siete semanas de caminar.
the sun was going down,
el sol se estaba escondiendo
by the dying sun in such a powerful way
moribundo de una manera tan poderosa
had dropped below the horizon,
el sol detrás del horizonte,
walking across the Atlantic,
cruzar el Atlántico,
going into the future.'
the sun was falling further.
de que el sol estaba en el ocaso.
I had on the whole Camino
que tuve en todo el Camino
had to walk across that unknown sea
tenía que cruzar ese mar desconocido
at breakfast time.
a la hora del desayuno.
for Marlene McCormack.
para Marlene McCormack.
que el sol había tomado
taking the path the sun had taken
taking the path the run had taken
el camino que la carrera había tomado
taking the path the sun had taken
el camino que el sol había tomado
cede el paso al océano:
going where shadows go,
yendo adonde las sombras van,
that wouldn't let you pass
a un mundo que no te deje pasar
to the way you had come,
al camino por el que habías venido,
on the late western light;
al compás de la última luz occidental;
to promise all along
prometer todo el tiempo
to promise all along,
prometer todo el tiempo
that brought you here
que te trajeron aquí
una manera diferente de pisar,
her third play performed
at the sum of all of our endeavors.
a la cima de todos nuestros esfuerzos.
you've set for yourself,
que te has propuesto,
to the consummation of all your goals.
la consumación de todos tus objetivos.
about walking into your life,
para entrar en la propia vida,
three abiding illusions
tres ilusiones perdurables
with you since the beginning of time.
desde el principio de los tiempos.
is that you can somehow construct a life
alguna manera se puede construir una vida
to all of the difficulties
inmune a todas las dificultades
since the beginning of time.
desde el principio de los tiempos.
of, first, incipience,
del nacimiento, inicialmente,
to begin with, disappearance,
una maravillosa decadencia
full disappearance.
muy austera y plena.
"That's beautiful,
of the equation, please?
de la ecuación, por favor?
for the new cycle to come around."
a que llegue el nuevo ciclo".
are at war with reality
los humanos están en guerra con la realidad
in which I will not have my heart broken.
no quiero romper mi corazón.
we start to do it.
donde empezamos a hacerlo.
of a new romance or a new marriage,
o un nuevo matrimonio,
who will not break my heart."
que no romperá mi corazón".
for that exact core competency.
justamente por esa exacta capacidad.
the perfect mother and father."
anything spectacular or dramatic.
nada espectacular o dramático.
spectacular or dramatic --
hacen algo espectacular o dramático
as spies and saboteurs for years,
y saboteadores durante años,
alrededor de 14 años de edad,
exactly where to place it?"
exactamente dónde colocarlo?"
professional personalities
blindadas y profesionales
heart broken in work.
el corazón en el trabajo.
from here to there.
relationship with reality.
apropiada con la realidad.
of having our hearts broken
que nos rompan el corazón
that we deeply care about.
que nos interesan profundamente.
and arrange things
lo suficiente y arreglar las cosas
the path to the end
el camino hacia el final
in which that would be true
en el que eso sería cierto
would take the path away from you.
alejaría el camino.
to the beginning all at the same time.
al principio todo al mismo tiempo.
spiritual traditions,
grandes tradiciones espirituales,
en el suelo de la vida,
in the ground of your life fully,
into a strategic future
from present heartbreak;
un escape de la angustia actual;
in the ground of your life
en el suelo de la vida
that is pulling you --
the way you should take
revela el camino que uno debe tomar
the way you should take,
revela el camino que uno debe tomar
when you thought you would fall,
when you thought you would fall,
the way that carried you into your future,
el camino que te llevó a tu futuro,
had to take your promise from you,
te trajo una promesa,
had to break your heart along the way:
te partió el corazón en el camino:
from deep inside yourself
desde lo más profundo de ti mismo
both inside you and far beyond you,
dentro de ti y mucho más allá de ti,
con tus harapos de amor
con tus harapos de amor
became a prayer for safe arrival,
se tornó oración por una llegada segura,
had actually already happened
realmente ya había ocurrido
had actually already happened
realmente ya había ocurrido
in which you lived before you began,
antes de comenzar,
and the mind and the promise
la mente y la promesa
and then drew you on,
y luego te atrajo,
de encontrar un camino
in your simple wish to find a way
deseo de encontrar un camino
of any destination you could reach
destino que pudieses alcanzar.
in that simple wish to find a way
deseo de encontrar un camino
of any destination you could reach:
destino que pudieses alcanzar:
might be a city with golden domes,
como una ciudad con cúpulas doradas,
was the end of the road,
que era el final del camino,
beneath the face looking back
bajo el rostro que mira hacia atrás
you had sought forever
que buscabas desde siempre
you had sought forever,
que buscabas desde siempre,
that beckoned you beyond;
que te llevó más allá;
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