Meraki | Anamika Gurung Art

Meraki

Meraki - (μεράκι) - Greek

(n.) The soul, creativity, or love you put into something, the essence of yourself that is put into a work

"Meraki" is an ongoing project of portraits and storytelling from around the globe to honor the Creator's fingerprint and "meraki" revealed uniquely in each person. It highlights the beauty, the commonalities, or the contrasts that can link or separate the kaleidoscope of humanity.

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“For the first six years of my life, Nanu Ba (my grandfather) and I tended the sheep and goats in the hills of Nepal. There was a little pond in the meadow that the flock drank from. Sometimes I sat by the water, playing in the mud and creating little mud animals. Other times, I’d climb trees and pick “paunyan” (a little wild plum) until Nanu Ba called for me to help bring the flock home. To guard the animals at night, Nanu Ba and I would lie down to sleep near the door in the animal shed. That's what ‘Nanu Ba’ means--'Grandpa who puts me to sleep.' Nanu Ba raised me those early years and I was very attached to him. Often, he would carry me around the village, showing me off to the others saying, ‘This is my grandson!’ He was proud to be my grandpa.”

-Krishna (Nepal)

"When I close my eyes and think of Maa (my grandmother), the first image I see is of us sitting together in shared, quiet moments in our home in Lalitpur. Soft light around us, the brown dusting of the floor, the wood beams, the green doors to the rooms. She always woke up earlier than me, when it was just barely light, and I could count on hearing the bells ringing from our puja room and through the house. In the morning we'd drink chiyaa together. She loved to spend time with plants. We'd spend time watering them together, touching the leaves, keeping simple conversation."

- June (USA & Nepal)

“It seems that God cares deeply that his people learn to live in the present with him, trusting him with each coming second, minute, hour, day, as he leads us delightedly along the path he has already marked out for us, the only path with the certainty of a happy ending. And it is through that daily, hourly trusting that God prepares us to meet those very things that we are not—currently—ready for. Strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow.”

-Laura W. (Los Angeles, California)

“(To my children) Whether it was nurturing your creativity, reading together, playing pretend to spark your imagination or introducing you to new skills, places, things, and experiences, it was always somewhere in the back of my mind that I was giving something unseen that I wanted with all my heart to be good for you as it gradually and cumulatively would grow and blossom.”

- Carol (USA & Nepal)

"Even at a young age I was proud to have a grandma who would readily hop in a canoe, brave the wilderness and mosquitos of the Boundary Waters, ride elephants in Chitwan, and go trekking for weeks! I remember being so inspired when you decided to move to China (in your seventies!) and step into the lifelong dream of serving and loving there as a missionary! Your example taught me as a little girl to not let age or temporary setbacks limit my perspective and hopes for the future."

- Anamika