Saudade and Soul

A new word that is meaningful to us all

The wonderful thing about knowledge is that it produces more of itself. By that, I mean curiosity increases knowledge, which produces greater curiosity, which is now hungry for more knowledge, and so on.

Every once in a while a brand new idea, or in this case a word, enters my worldview. I thank Maria Garcia’s article “The Infinite Shades of Saudade Blue” for inspiring me to read further about this wonderful word, saudade.

It is Portuguese. My life has no relation to Portugal, although the food looks outstanding on Food Network.

This word is the one I’ve been theorizing about for my whole life. I have been looking for it and had no idea it was waiting for me in Portugal. Saudade characterizes so much of the pain of my particular life circumstances as well as my journey from crisis to better mental health.