Nazım Hikmet'in daktilosu (Photo credit: dilek_irmak)

When I last left you, I was in melt-down mode as a result of the workaholic gerbil wheel called academia in which I currently reside professionally.  The puppets were in chaos about it, but Yehuda Rebbe calmed me down some, reminding me not to let the important stuff inside me “die” metaphorically speaking – to let the important stuff rise up.

…and then today, not surprisingly, Karagoz showed up at morning tea-time and began spouting nonsense, or so I thought, until I listed more carefully…he was quoting Nazım Hikmet:

Living is no laughing matter
you must live with great seriousness
like a squirrel, for example
I mean without looking for something beyond and above living,
I mean living must be your whole occupation.
Nazım Hikmet (1902-1963)

Yaşamak şakaya gelmez,
büyük bir ciddiyetle yaşayacaksın
bir sincap gibi mesela,
yani, yaşamanın dışında ve ötesinde hiçbir şey beklemeden,
yani bütün işin gücün yaşamak olacak.

So, friends, let living be as much of our whole occupation as it can be!

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