I was home a couple of weeks ago, and just like everyone else, I felt like travelling back in time when I walked through the tiny town centre and recognised some faces that pertained to my early young adult days. It stirred some sentiments within and made me revisit myself internally, too. So I put it down in words.

The aspect of recognising someone or something and connecting it to a memory happens because it made an impact on us. Whether in our childhood or teenage years, and trust me, if we stop and think, we will remember quite a few faces and moments that will spark a sentiment, like nostalgia. That’s where my reflection began.

We agree that Nostalgia, from the Greek, translates as the pain/ache of returning home. The idea of recalling the best moments, people, and places does trigger some sort of profound touch within us, and it can be unsettling sometimes, especially if you cherish those memories dearly. Though much more than involving pain, ache, and indelibly touching special and important memories, to me, the reading of the word nostalgia goes beyond: It feels like hope. I am not talking about the sort of hoping to relive those memories, but the hope that keeps us alive and in motion because, deep down, I believe that is how it is functioning in our subconscious.

Now, let’s keep the Greek word Nostalgia aside but still fresh in our thoughts. Let’s explore the word Hope in Hebrew, Tikvah (which some brothers and sisters here are very familiar with). Tikvah comes from the root verb of Qavah, meaning ’to look for with expectation,” like in Latin, Spes, Italian Speranza, Portuguese – Esperança, Spanish – Esperanza. The art of waiting; a virtue. Well, in Hebrew this virtue (Hope) is further seen with the meaning: to bind together. Wow. Did you read that?! Hope binds us together, like a KNOT. Memories and us are bound tightly. We are all bound, in our different ways. We all share something in common.

Now, I’m not an expert about sailing, although the sea is my favourite place to be—but I can tell you that knots are something quite important in the sailing world. Even at home, if you find a well-done knot, it can take hours to undo. Because it is super tight, the force applied to it makes it almost unbreakable.

So where does Nostalgia fit in with Tikvah/Qavah? It is the knot, the force, the connection that we all share in life, in our own very personal ways, but similarly. We all carry memories. It is the hope that you feel when you dig deeper, when you contemplate those years of your life and the people who took part in it. I referenced Hope as a KNOT, which is related to the sea and sailing. Well, sailing in Latin translates as navigandum. To navigate. It is a force that travels, collectively and internally, for it is, firstly, a movement that starts within us.

And you know what makes even more sense, following these two verbs, Qavah and Navigandum, especially to me, a native Brazilian? It is the word Saudade in Portuguese. I am sure you heard this word in our most well-known bossa nova songs. However, arguably, some say that saudade is similar to the Greek word nostalgia, for it is an emotional state; it entails the deep longing for something or someone that is absent and will not come back. I know this reads and sounds far in terms of positive interpretations here, and for that specifically, we get the Greek showing up again: melancholia, which is not applicable to my reading here.

Studies consider Saudade untranslatable because of its emotional and cultural specificity. Undeniably, it is an emotional state for us Brazilians. It is hard to explain why exactly, although, in my own words, it is in between the ability of cherishing memories and feeling like Qavah, Hope combined with the joy-gratitude of sharing this collectively. Culturally speaking, Brazilians embrace this concept quite tightly, like a knot, a unified, tight force, and I find it beautiful. 

If we break down the etymology of the word saudade, we have the following: derived from the Latin word solitas or solitās, meaning solitude or loneliness and the suffix ade, equivalent to ety or ness, in the English language.

Again, I am not here to repeat information that you can find elsewhere. I am bringing a different reading to the text, showing a connection that goes beyond translations, with the intention to shift the ways we look at things, and more positively.

So far, we have the Greek word nostalgia, the Hebrew Tikvah/Qavah – Knot, the force, very present in the sea, sailing environment, that travels and is always in movement, and now we have Saudade, in Portuguese. But here’s what will solidify this interpretation of mine even more:

SAU and SAL in Portuguese, have the same sound, pronunciation (SAAL – open A).

So, if we change SAU to SAL, from Latin Salis, we get Salt.

We are getting closer now.

For centuries, and still in some regions of the world, salt was used to preserve food, meat, etc. This method doesn’t just preserve food but keeps it safe from bacterial growth. So, it cures the meat. You read it right: Cure, Healing, English. Cura, Latin, meaning “spiritual charge of souls.’’

What is preserving us and our cherished memories? It is the Tikvah, the Qavah. The Hope. The KNOT. The SALT, which perfectly and subconsciously brings the cure, healing and directly changes us.

And, as long as we keep it that way, no negativity or bacteria will ruin it. Like sailing, memories will come and go, but time will not spoil them, for they are tight, like a knot. That is, to me, the truest definition of it, and I am sure if we carry on, further interpretations will continue to add on and on.

So where do I plan to get with this? Well, on a very personal note, the most perfect and wisest man, who once stepped on earth (later crucified), said: ‘Be the light and the salt’ of the world.

So here, we are not just talking about preserving and receiving the cure through the power of words, but also influencing others, keeping it moving, navigandum—travelling; tight, like a knot, passing on the good news to the world.

The good news is that the word Hope, to you now, will carry a different and powerful meaning. Like salt, healing, and tight as a knot, it strongly sails until it finds others that are open to hear about it. That is why I wrote this piece, and coincidentally, I immediately remembered Emily Dickinson’s beautiful poem ‘Hope,’ which also carries a spiritual and poignant reading.
 
I pray that this creative piece has stirred something within you and that it stays tight but travelling in your heart and your mind, healing areas that needs to heal and preserving you from negative thoughts. Remember, you are very much loved and appreciated in this life, as is every cherished memory that pertains to your past, and most importantly, you are not alone in this. We sail together.

So let’s ensure that this Hope sails with us.

All blessings,

Tici