As I was reading the latest issue of Times magazine, I came across an article that talks about “ideas that are changing the world”. One of them would be our jobs being the new assets now.

It used to be when we are trying means and ways NOT to work, and making passive income and investments, such that we can have more free time to ourselves. Times when we talk about the new properties whether they are worth investing, or when the latest designer brand or clothing is out and comparing whether who has more collector items.

Somehow, it seems like we got more materialistic and everything we own is more of a shown off and a signification of our status. We forgot our roots and how some of us started out less well-to-do, forgot our humility that we once started with little or nothing. Slowly as we climb up the ladder we decided that we want to work less for more, and our payroll does not justify the amount of work we do. So we start to source for other means of getting riches. We start investing on bonds and properties, and thinking that one day we can depend solely on investments we can stop work for good. We think we were smart, until the collapse of the economy. Now it seems that those who are still hold a job are having the last laugh.

Many times we fail to realize that our greatest asset is ourselves. We have knowledge and skills that cannot be taken away from us until the day we die. Upon discovering that, we begin to look at our jobs differently. What we do now could be our only source of income. We need to relearn what we have learnt, back to where we began. Only this way will we be able to look at our jobs from another angle, learn to appreciate and enjoy what we go.

After all, simplicity makes one more content with what is laid on the table for them.

As the saying goes…”Whatever happens, happens for a reason”

After I have read Paulo Coelho’s The Fifth Mountain, I continue to read his another book entitled “Like the Flowing River”.  This is a collection of reflections from Paulo Coelho. In this riveting collection of thoughts and stories, he offers his personal reflections on a wide range of subjects from archery and music to elegance, travelling and the nature of good and evil.

What actually caught my attention is when I read a particular short story on “The Other Side of the Tower of Babel”.  In this story, he pays his respect to the Holy Translator, Saint Mesrob.  Below is an extract of what Paulo had wrote and it best summarize the importance of a good book translator:

“Today is 9 October, 2004. The town is called Oshakan, and Armenia, as far as I know, is the only place in the world that has declared the day of the Holy Translator, St. Mesrob, a national holiday and where they celebrate it in style. As well as creating the Armenian alphabet (the language already existed, but only in spoken form). St Mesrob devoted his life to translating into his mother tongue the most important texts of the period, which were written in Greek, Persian or Cyrillic. He and his disciples devoted themselves to the enormous task of translating the Bible and the main literary classics of the time. From that moment on, the country’s culture gained its own identity, which it has maintained to this day.

The Holy Translator. I hold the flower in my hands and think of all the people I have never met, and perhaps may never have the opportunity to meet, but who, at this moment, have my books in their hands, and are doing their best tremain faithful to what I have tried to share with my readers. I think, above all, of my father-in-law, Christiano Monteiro Oiticica (profession: translator), who is today in the company of angels and of St. Mesrob, watching this scene. I remember seeing him hunched over his old typewriter, often complaining about how badly paid translation was (and, alas, still is). He would immediately go on, though, to explain that the real reason he translated was because he wanted to share a knowledge, which, but for translators, would never reach his own people.

I say a silent prayer for him, for all those who have helped me with my books, and for those who have allowed me to read books to which I would never otherwise have had access, thus helping – anonymously – to shape my life and my character. When I leave the church, I see some children writing the alphabet with sweets in the shape of letters and with flowers and more flowers.

When man grew ambitious, God destroyed the Tower of Babel, and everyone began to speak different tongues. However, in His infinite grace, he also created people to rebuild those bridges, to enable dialogue and the diffusion of human thought. This person, whose name we rarely take the trouble to notice when we open a foreign book, is the translator.”

The above extract has touched my heart when I read it.  In this commercial world, some people has failed to comprehend the importance of translation.   They fail to understand that a translator takes much effort and time to produce a good translation work.  My kudos to those professional translators in the world.  Thanks for being the Bridge Across Cultures in this world!

Recently, I received an email  from a friend. It made me even more certain that I should always opt for professional translators who understand the language as well as the culture. Otherwise, misunderstandings may occur…

Next time when you want translate text yourself to another language you are not very strong at, think twice.