Worth Noticing
In the German language, there are some unique words that have a sweet little twist to them if you sit with them for a while. For example, the word ‘merkwuerdig’is normally used in describing someone else that you would think is strange, weird, or a bit odd. It’s something you wouldn’t necessarily like to be called. But if you translate the word literally into English, it means ‘someone worth noticing’. The part "merk” means noticing and ‘wuerdig’ means worth. Perceived in this light, being called ‘merkwurdig’ actually becomes something you wouldn’t mind being called.
While I was talking about this with a friend, he got curious and decided to spontaneously look up the meaning of the word weird and we were stunned by what we found. The adjective weird means mysteriously strange or fantastic. Weird may imply an unearthly or supernatural strangeness. Nothing bad at all. Google even answers the question if it is good to be weird as follows:
“Embracing your weirdness gives you a new perspective and the world needs a new perspective. Innovation doesn't happen within the status quo. Innovation happens when outsiders challenge the status quo with weird ideas.”
Fascinating… for me, it shows again that language is just a code, and that code can easily be misunderstood or chanced. Words themselves, just like life, have no particular meaning. Only we make meaning happen and by what we attach to the words. It can make you hyper-aware of what or how you talk, as you don't know what meaning people are attaching to the words you are saying. Sometimes it is better to keep it simple or keep your thoughts to yourself. Especially when there are strong feelings involved, like anger or love. In these extremes, we have all experienced different kinds of heartbreaks and trauma, which can easily lead to misunderstanding. To resolve an issue, it can sometimes be enough to talk about the meaning behind the words we speak and what they mean to us as individuals.