Lost in Translation

Translate, according to the Oxford/American Dictionary means “to interpret” or “to express in another language or simpler words.” Consider defining the following in simple terms.

Watching a sunset
Your feelings about your mother–at five, fifteen, thirty-five and seventy-five
Walking through a redwood forest
Looking at the ocean
Listening to a train whistle in the middle of the night
Reading a book with your grandchild
Sailing
Realizing that you are falling–on ice, over a curb, on a dance floor
Turning a calendar page and counting how many days and months you have lived
Looking at your hands and comparing them to your grandchild’s soft, plump fists
Driving in an open car on a country road on a bright, sunny autumn day
Waiting for surgery
Telling a soon-to-be new mom about childbirth
Giving permission to doctors to remove life supports from your loved one

Your first crush
Watching a bird fly
Sitting in a monstrous jet plane and wondering how it stays in the air
Seeing a first blossom in spring
Forgetting the next word you intend to say
The smoothness of satin and silk
Smelling bread baking
Tasting a peach at the height of its ripeness
Cutting open a watermelon
Hearing a foreign sound in the dark of night
Watching a quiet snowfall while sitting in a warm, cozy room
Creating something from nothing
Choosing a gift that’s perfect for someone you love
Finally understanding something, which you failed to grasp initially

The list is endless and includes happy moments and those which are painful to recall or imagine. Most are impossible to describe with accuracy and are “lost in translation,” yet each feeling parallels a life’s lesson. Each one is a vital part of living.

What would your list include?

Dorathy John Schuldt ’52
Euclid, Ohio