"Meraki [may-rah-kee] (adjective) This is a word that modern Greeks often use to describe doing something with soul, creativity, or love — when you put “something of yourself” into what you’re doing, whatever it may be. Meraki is often used to describe cooking or preparing a meal, but it can also mean arranging a room, choosing decorations, or setting an elegant table.
There is no English equivalent for this word. Meraki is, unsurprisingly, untranslatable."
May-rah-kee! Did I pronounce it right? I love it how my head swings left and right while I sing-song the Greek word may-rah-kee.
One fine day, I found this beautiful word on Facebook and it took me no second thought to share it on my Timeline. As fast I shared it, I moved ahead with other things on Facebook. In my daily life I easily get bored and then head towards all those thoughts that suggest me how I am wasting my life by living a pretty mundane and monotonous life. I am a big time procrastinator and the after-effects of it kill me bit by bit every day. Past couple of months were difficult. What made it worst is the fact that I was insecure and I even lost my sleep in the hands of regular nightmares.
A mail from him was waiting in my inbox. It was just a line or two and written in response to one of the posts I have shared on my Timeline. Initially I was upset to find such a smallish mail as he was writing to me after a gap of two days.
You might have shared it just like that but subconsciously you must be aware that this is how you are. But let me reiterate it to you in loud and bold letters....this is how you are...this is how you love to do things for those whom you love... this is how you do things that are close to your heart... you put all your heart, soul, creativity, and love. In a nutshell you put ‘something of yourself’ in the things you do... and this is exactly how you love me too. Yes I am talking about the word MERAKI and for me the symbol of Meraki is no one but you... yes you, my Greek Goddess. :D
Rest all is fine and the ship ain't rolling no more. :)
It would be an understatement to say that the mail made me happy. It was much beyond the thing called happiness. I wondered is it really true? I happen to be a person who highly underestimates herself and thus is harsh on herself most of the time. With a mug of hot lemon tea spiced with cinnamon, I realized that may be he has exaggerated the whole thing but whatever he has written holds ample amount of truth too.
I am just an ordinary girl with some above average talents but yes, I realized that I do them exactly the way he has mentioned. I am by nature an introvert and my social circle is very limited. But those I love, I love with all my heart and soul. Yes, it is true. And it made me feel at the top of the world.
I have tried to list few things that I do with Meraki. There are many more but the top few are here in the list below:
Well can you guess them by looking at the pictures???
Well can you guess them by looking at the pictures???
1. Writing: I am sure the day I and my writings are no longer together, I would be as good as a dead body, may be worse than that. I know, I can’t churn write-ups after write-up yet and that I frequently take long breaks, and yes truth be told that I procrastinate a lot too; but writing makes me what I am, even though my writing abilities are very mediocre and it is seldom that I am happy/satisfied with them. I don’t know who and how I will be if I were never this close to weaving words. I don’t even want to imagine a life like that. Along with the way I love my people, if there is something else where I am true to myself and pour my heart and soul in to it, it has to be Writing. My words reflect the real me. The things that even I am not aware about myself are weaved through my words. I am thankful to God for blessing me with the ability to write, to write with Meraki.
2. If you are my person, I will love you and be there for you in every thick and thin. I would cook for you, weave words for you, and yes my gifts to you will always contain something handmade. I know there are few people who can vouch for it. And from them only I have learnt that, I do take time to come close, but once you are my person, love and compassion come easy to me. Meraki it is. Isn’t it?
3. Cooking: I seldom cook. But when I do, I put my heart into it. It is pure ‘meraki’ when I cook for my dad. And it would be so when I would occasionally cook for him in future.
4. Paper and paper works and of course colours: I am a passionate Quiller. I love the fact that just by rolling a strip of paper, how wonderfully I can let my creativity loose. If I am found quilling, it is sure that I must have lost track of time and place and nothing could make me come out of my reverie till I finish doing it. Just like me he is totally into origami and I too would pick it up soon.
5. Peepal leaf paintings: I got hooked to it when I was in high school and since then I am mad about it. I learnt it on my own. The extremely pungent procedure can never drive me away, even when my whole family is ready to kill me.
These handmade things then form a formidable part of my gift packages to the people I love. If you are my person, sooner or later you would receive something hand made from me along with few written words.
6. Losing myself in the lap of hill-station: I do that with elan and with complete meraki. I wish that one fine day I will have my very own wooden cottage in the solitude of misty nature, green valleys, lines of pine tress, cascading waterfalls, sky full of twinkling stars, color splashed sunrise and sunset, piping hot soups, and majestic snow-capped mountains.
7. The way I love my Soulmate: No amount of words, exquisite or plain, can never to justice to this and hence I surrender.
Meraki! This is how I share myself with myself and to those whom I love and to my readers via my blog. I leave a piece of myself behind with the hope that its presence will be forever there for you to feel. I want to linger in your good memories and wish to be your smile in your dry and rainy days. This is how I want to live on.
~*~
My Theme: To write on seven words that
- We don't hear generally
- Non-English words
- Words that are untranslatable in English
- Let's see, how can I include more varieties.
Let me know what to you think about my choice of theme for this Seven days of Writing Festival.
