Week Fifteen

"O aprendes a querer la espina o no aceptes rosas" (Fuiste Tú, Ricardo Arjona)

I have a confession:

I don't know any Spanish. Listening to these Latin American songs was hard, because I only could read the translations. Even the best translations lose the original depth and meaning of words. So I think that this particular line talks about accepting roses, thorns and all. At least, that's how I'm going to interpret it.

 This whole song is about a broken relationship, so, the rose in this situation is the relationship. At least for a while, it's beautiful and sweet and enjoyable. But, despite all that, there are going to be bad parts- the thorns. Whether it's fighting or distrust or jealousy or anything else that can plague a relationship, something else is going on other than happiness. This creates an interesting paradox in my mind. When something is beautiful, I think of it as completely and totally beautiful. If The Mona Lisa was smudged, it wouldn't be as lovely as it is. But nothing about a thorn is beautiful. So how can the rose be lovely despite these thorns? Taking it back to Arjona's song, how can a relationship be beautiful or good if bad parts of it exist? I'm not sure that I can successfully give an answer to this question, but I can think of a song that addresses this issue.

 

It comes back to what we've said all semester: it's complicated. Why are the good and beautful things in life mixed with the bad and ugly things? Well, there must be opposition in all things. As much as I would love to have no sorrow, no pain, no suffering, I know that feeling these things enables me to feel happiness, joy, and all sorts of wonderful feelings. So, is it hard to accept a rose, thorns and all? Of course it is. But is it worth it?

Always.