Meraki — The Honest Truth About Your Work

Ritika Bajaj
Aug 23, 2017 · 3 min read
Image Source: Pixabay.com

A friend sent me a piece he had written on life…comparing life to a journey on a boat. I found it very superficial, not getting to the depth of the issue, and I told him so.

The writer and editor in me is always alert for instances where I see people playing to the galleries rather than being their authentic selves…

Anything that doesn’t come from a space of truth, especially ‘your’ truth will eventually seem very bland, first to yourself, and then to your audience… Stay warned, you can’t fool anyone!

All creative people are struggling to balance what the audience wants, quick easy-to-read, little dumbed-down content, and still create what they believe in.

In my view, it’s a no-win situation… Because if your work is not honest to yourself, it won’t be honest to anyone else…

And really, for how much longer will you play the game, eventually the burden of the mask will get heavy, and then you’ll just have to slowly, and sometimes not graciously, exit the arena.

The only way to sustain your passion for work, and the work itself, is by adding to it, what the Greeks call, ‘meraki’.

Source: Pinterest.com

Meraki essentially means putting your soul into what you create… It’s about pouring your essence into your creations, thereby making it a reflection of your love for it, and more importantly a reflection of who you are.

This theory is not only for creatives… Anyone can make their work more meaningful, beautiful and graceful, if they consciously allow themselves to enter it.

People say work objectively, understand the market/consumer, etc. I say — understand yourself first, and then understand how you can offer yourself to the world.

If you’ve figured that out, your everyday work will become more enriching… You won’t need to find moments of achievements or other highlights like promotions to feel validated.

Instead, your work will begin to positively permeate every aspect of your life… just as you allowed yourself to flow into your work.

The give and take will be symbiotic, not tiring or damaging… The energy flow from your work will energise your life…like it should.

When this happens, you won’t need to market yourself, or get more likes or more traffic, or anything else to prove your work is good, just doing it will be enough…just knowing your work is a part of you will be reward in itself.

As a creative, entrepreneur, or any other professional, the truth then is to first and foremost be honest to yourself…and next, to be honest to the work you do…

To ensure you put ‘you’ into your work, the ‘real’ you, not the one that craves adulation and applaud…the one who’s content being…the one who’s complete within…

Anything else will fall short of authenticity — a disservice to you and your audience!

Pink Pinjra is a space to be your authentic self…to play out your honest stories or what you feel passionately about, without feeling apologetic.

It’s an honest and transparent space, where you can share all expressions of your heart and soul… To fearlessly write about your innermost thoughts…

If you would like to send in your story, simply write into pinkpinjra@gmail.com or s.

PS: Thanks for taking time out to read the post. If you liked it, do leave a comment, applaud it, share it with your network, or follow Pink Pinjra for more posts in the future.

Pink Pinjra

A space to share with the world your innermost thoughts, fantastical ideas, dearest dreams, and your unique expressions of them all… Relive your experiences here by writing about your joys and sorrows, failures and successes, strengths and limitations, realities and illusions.

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Ritika Bajaj

Written by

Writer-editor, educationist, entrepreneur, seeker, change agent, voyager, student of life… and more

Pink Pinjra

A space to share with the world your innermost thoughts, fantastical ideas, dearest dreams, and your unique expressions of them all… Relive your experiences here by writing about your joys and sorrows, failures and successes, strengths and limitations, realities and illusions.

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