I have a great love of learning. Any subject that catches my interest, I am happy to dive into it's knowledge. Learning new words is especially fun. In the midst of learning bellydancing, a new word arrived into my vocabulary: habibi.
As some may know, the tradition of bellydancing comes from the region that we know today as the Middle East, a region full of beauty and history. A word that comes up in many songs is "habibi". The definition of this word, according to dictionary.com is "an Arabic word that literally means “my love” (sometimes also translated as “my dear,” “my darling,” or “beloved.”)". It is a pet name, used with family, friends, or significant others. The root of the word comes from the Arabic word "love" and yet it has grown into a word a word that means much more than that.
We, as Americans, use the word "love" in mainly the attachment sense, describing our boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, and wives. With the word "habibi", it seems to not only contain the love we have for those we share those intimate moments with, but platonic as well.
Love can be so much more that what we traditionally think. When we take into ourselves all the aspects of love, we become richer, in body and spirit.
So, my habibi, to quote a line from a Shinedwon song "How did you love?"
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