I’m truly a lover of beautiful things. Maybe it’s because I’m a Piscis…

One thing I collect is words. Years ago, I came across the Italian word “Gibigianna” on Pinterest for the first time — meaning the play of light reflected from water or a mirror. I was fascinated. This was something I’ve often taken pictures of, yet I wasn’t aware there was such a beautiful word for it. It’s furthermore used to describe a woman who flaunts her charm or wishes to dazzle you with her elegance.

Since then, I’ve particularly fallen in love with words that don’t exist in my native language, which is German. I could only feel into them — and I love feeling into things rather than trying to capture them intelectually.

I’ve chosen a few of my favourite words for you today. After a quick double-check of their true meanings and origins (the journalist in me, who never quite got her fling in working life, pushed me to do so…), I found out that not all of them actually exist in a formal linguistic sense or have a proven origin. I don’t see this as a problem. I still find it beautiful that someone tried to put a feeling many of us might be familiar with into words…

My invitation to you today is to pick up a word like a flower.

Look at it.
Breathe it in.
Set your intention to connect with it.
Find a way to integrate it into your day, your week.
Offer it a tea, or coffee, or a glass of wine.
Be playful, curious, and open!
Listen.

In which ways are you able to identify with it?

Does it have a message for you?

A gift even, maybe?

If you don’t get an answer immediately, don’t push yourself… Write the word down in your journal. Allow it to open up to you in its own rhythm. Give it time… Be gentle.

And, in any case, definitely go hunt for your very own new words…

Aimai
The beauty of what’s left unsaid. In the spaces between words, we find understanding, nuance, and connection.
(Japanese)

Akihi
The moment when you ask for directions, walk away, and immediately forget what was said.
(Hawaiian)

Blazemoche
The therapeutic tranquility one feels when listening to the crackling and burning of firewood.
(seems to be poetically invented)

Emuná
A feeling of calm even if one doesn’t have all the answers yet.
(Hebrew)

Hiraeth
A homesickness for a home to which you cannot return to — or which maybe never was. The nostalgia, the yearning, the grief for the lost places of your past.
(Welsh)

Livilence
The mix of eerie calmness and nostalgia experienced when returning to the home one grew up in long after moving away.
(seems to be poetically invented)

Meraki
To do something with soul, creativity, or love. To put something of yourself into your work.
(Greek)

Nefelibata
One who lives in the clouds of their own imagination or dreams. One who does not obey the conventions of society, literature, or art. A dreamer or nonconformist.
(Portuguese)

Phosphenes
The stars and colors you see when you rub your eyes.
(Greek)

Smultronställe
Literally meaning “place of wild strawberries”. A special place discovered, treasured, returned to for solace and relaxation. A personal idyll free from stress and sadness.
(Swedish)

Toska
An immense ache for nothing and everything all at once. An anguish from the bottom of the heart.
(Russian)

Tuirse
A soul-deep fatigue — a kind of emotional or spiritual exhaustion that can come from heartache, longing, sorrow, or simply being worn down by life, because of carrying the weight too long.
(Irish)

Yutori
The beautiful art of creating space in your life — to breathe, to think… To simply be. Slowing down to take in the world around you. No rush. No noise. Just presence.
(Japanese)