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I Grew Up With a Word for This Feeling

houdanait.substack.com · 1,826 words · saved by 1 readers

And now, I'm watching it happen to the whole world at once.

I Grew Up With a Word for This Feeling And now, I'm watching it happen to the whole world at once. Houda Nait El Barj Feb 24, 2026 26 6 5 Share Picture the Moroccan desert at night. No light pollution, no sound, nothing moving. Stars so thick they look painted. I slept out there once and understood, for the first time, what it means to feel small and held at the same time. There is a word in Moroccan Arabic that gets at that feeling: nashat. Joy of life. The belief that being alive, in itself, is already enough to celebrate. Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and suppo

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