Mañana is the Spanish word for tomorrow. But you might also know that the word can be used in a sentence: “Ah, mañana!”. Meaning: “Ah, tomorrow or some other and later time. Not too long ago, this word came to me. It was Friday afternoon, and after having explored the old palace of Istanbul all morning and gifted myself the most gorgeous hand-made silk dress, it was time to sit down with my coffee and Turkish delight and write an article.
There was just one teeny tiny problem. I was not at all in the mood to write an article. I wanted to explore more of Istanbul (I suspect the caffeine and sugar rush from the Turkish delight might have had a hand to play in my surge of energy). Anyway, I thought “Ah, mañana, I actually have time to do this in the morning.”
I rarely ever blow off work, and I’m not a known procrastinator, but sometimes you just gotta do the fun thing, enjoy life and say mañana.
Soon after having closed down my laptop I found myself in a little boutique with handmade bags. The owner thought I was from Aussie, and when he found out I live in New Zealand he happily said “kia ora!”. Later when he found out I’m actually Danish, he said “hvordan går det?” (how are you in Danish). Not too long after I knew bits of his life story. For instance, he had many Kiwi friends, and he had spent a good chunk of time in Sweden and Denmark, hence why he knew those phrases. I also learned that in Islam you can name your son Ramadan if he is born in the month of Ramadan.
I also learned about Ottoman embroidery. I don’t know exactly what I will use that knowledge for, but it sure is beautiful, and I am a firm believer that there is no such thing as too much knowledge. You never know where your knowledge might take you…
Sometimes saying mañana is the best thing you can do. Go do the fun thing. Enjoy life. Get inspired. Eat some Turkish delight. Have a coffee. You never know, you might just end up in a whimsical little boutique in Istanbul with quirky Ottoman-inspired bags…
