“My Uitwaaien Time Out”

As with all languages, there are certain common Dutch words and phrases that simply don’t translate into English. Many of these linguistic curiosities beautifully capture specific aspects of Dutch culture, whilst others resonate with English speakers despite their cryptic nature.

Today’s daily write is about a word that describes why I haven’t been keeping up with my daily blogging posts and daily writings for the last few days and or weeks.

We writers tend to live in our heads and its necessary for us to step outside and enjoy the sunshine more than every once in a while. Shaking up your routine can sometimes, inadvertently, lead to you generating some of your best material”
~ Mitchell Martin Jnr ~

The word that I am dedicating today’s daily writing to is UITWAAIEN –
Pronunciation l aut-vwl-en (OUT-vwy-ehn) & the origin of this descriptive word is Dutch.

Uitwaaien is a verb, and it is an “untranslatable” Dutch word with no perfect or equivalent English translation. It is pronounced something like OUT-vine.

Uitwaaien, literally translated means “to walk in the wind,” to take a brief break in order to clear one’s head.

Uitwaaiening is a verb that represents itself by its rough translation; that being – taking time out to go walking outdoors to gain better insight or calm down after a stressful event. Although ‘Uitwaaien’ usually connotes forest paths or windswept beaches, its possible to ‘Uitwaaien’ in parks or even gardens.

Why would a person take an Uitwaaien moment… well a person would take out an Uitwaaien moment in order to clear their head in order to lift or release the burdens of a person’s heavy heart or over worked mind & life… an Uitwaaien is done by taking a brief break in nature or open space.

For the last few I have been feeling a little over run and a hell of a lot overwhelmed by the fast pace and the happenings of my busy life.

I am guilty of allowing things to overwhelm me.. I have had my busy mind trapped by a pile of paperwork and many different feelings and emotions.

I knew that I was becoming very inwardly tired and I certainly felt the weight of the world on my shoulders… the affects of this very deep level of exhaustion was holding me down and I felt as though I was going to collapse under the weight of my life’s pressures and struggles.

I felt very strongly that the best thing that I could do for myself was to allow myself the right to take a small time out… I needed a break from my ever winding was writing here and there but most of that was being done in my scribbling’s and notebook. My scribbled notebook writings unwritten and just like the Dutch word Uitwaaien my written words were not being written and uploaded to my daily blog writings.

In all honesty I thought that taking a break from my daily writings. Would give me the much needed break that both me and my mind needed in order to find a patch of calmness and quietness in my mind… but if I have to be completely honest; I became even more weighed down but the words and the daily writings that I wasn’t writing than the actual reasons for me needing to take out my few weeks of Uitwaaien.

I found interests in some of my other long forgotten musings… i.e. crocheting and reading… I was able to start a new crochet blanket (I was pleasantly surprised how quickly the flow of my stitches cane together). As for reading; I haven’t read like I actually did in my Uitwaaien moments for some years… I was reading 1-2 books a week and I found myself on many occasions loosing myself in the words and characters of the writings of my chosen books..

For the first time in a long time… my crocheting and reading musings had me locked deep into a period of reflection and thought… I thought about many things and I found that I was longing to offload my mind in a mind map exercise; an exercise that had me working on reprioritising my daily workload and the many thoughts that were flooding my mind and thoughts…

I yearned everyday in my own absence the permission to pick up my pen and go back to my writing; the place where I knew that my solace was in my writing… I knew oh to well that I was never lost or lonely when I was writing but for some reason unbeknownst to me… I became uneasy and unable to string together my thoughts and words that up until this lost in my self moment my writings flowed with ease… I saw myself struggling and wondered what the hell was happening… & in the long run I decided to not fight my overwhelmed seld and the very things that were weighing me down and I allowed them the time and space that they needed to find the fresh air that they needed.

At first I put pressure on myself to return to my daily writings on an everyday basis and then I decided that what I needed was a date a date that would have me returning to my love of writing… in setting this date I chose to not set it in concrete and the pep talk began “take as much time as you need to unwind and untangle my mind and thoughts..” and hear I am back with a clearer mind and thought process… still not 100% back so happy to find that familiar solace in the words that fill my heart, mind and soul with contentment.

I knew from the get go that all I needed was some time in my own space, where there was no schedule and no need for me to control my every thinking and thoughts.

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M.E. Time
By Gordon David
Reference – https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/m-e-time/

This is me time
To do what I gotta do
So please just let me be
I’ve always been there for you

Yes it’s me time
I owe you no apology
You’ve had nearly all I’ve got
Now I must be on my way

Because it’s me time
I just wanna be on my own
I’ll do what’s best for me
So I need to be left alone

Yes this is me time
I just need to do some thinking
Some peace and tranquility
You know I won’t be drinking

For it’s me time
Can you see it in my eyes
I need some time for me
I’ve always hated goodbyes

This is me time
I can deal with the physical pain
It can’t really hurt me
I think I’m just staying sane

This is just me time
I’ve gotta think of number one
Instead of everyone else
To undo all the knots I’ve done

I just need some me time
Do things I feel I need to do
I’ve nothing left to give
It isn’t me this time it’s you.

I need my me time
I am trying to make you understand
That it’s not easy being me
So with a virtual wave of my hand

this is me time,
time for just myself
I’ll be in touch some day
when I’m in better health

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I am so happy to be back with my pen in hand.

Signed
Author. Tanya Kelly
365daysomethings.wordpress.com