Saudade
I have been collecting words of other cultures and languages that have no English equivalent for a while now. Saudade* is my favorite. (Catharsis is one of my favorite English words. Do you have a favorite word or words, or phrase?)
In a past life this box was a cigar box that was covered entirely with glue and paper. I didn’t document it but the removal of the paper and glue was a huge job, just in itself (thankfully my husband did all of that!) I designed the lid and then engraved it. I stained the box, used a brayer to add gold acrylic to the lettering and then created and engraved a custom stamp to add a worn gold pattern effect to the sides.
*Saudade (Portuguese) is a deep emotional state of nostalgic or profound melancholic longing for something or someone that one cares for and/or loves. Moreover, it often carries a repressed knowledge that the object of longing might never be had again. It is the recollection of feelings, experiences, places, or events that once brought excitement, pleasure, and well-being, which now trigger the senses and make one experience the pain of separation from those joyous sensations. However it acknowledges that to long for the past would detract from the excitement you feel towards the future. Saudade describes both happy and sad at the same time, which is most closely translated to the English saying ‘bitter sweet’.
The state of mind has subsequently become a "Portuguese way of life": a constant feeling of absence, the sadness of something that's missing, wistful longing for completeness or wholeness and the yearning for the return of what is now gone, a desire for presence as opposed to absence—as it is said in Portuguese, a strong desire to matar as saudades (lit. to kill the saudades). {Wikipedia}
