Luftmensch

Pronunciation: LUFT-mensh
Definition: an impractical contemplative person having no definite business or income.
Example Sentence: Philosophy is a luftmensch job.

Some Fun Thoughts:

Hello, dear readers! Long long time, no see. So sorry about that. I hurt my back and was largely bedridden until the weekend, then I was moving, then it was Labor Day (go workers!). Now it is today and here we are. Crazy how pain and time work when intertwined.

Today’s word is a new discovery for me and one of my favorites because I think it really describes me—at least my brother would tell me it does. I think about things a lot that probably don’t need to be thought about. Like hypotheticals. And philosophical questions. And language. And where to place commas in this sentence, or maybe I should use periods? How does that affect the flow? No, that doesn’t sound right… I’m doing it again.

Anyways, a friend told me once, “You think very abstractly. Some people can’t afford to do that.” What a comment! I’d like to unpack it and how it makes me think of this word. The beginning definition of the word is fun: the absent-minded professor, kind of. But then it gets a little dark: “having no definite business or income.” That can still be fun in the La Bohème kind of way or the Stop considering if you should eat the cake and just eat the freaking cake. But I think it touches on something a little deeper. There is such a privilege in thinking about ideas all day and not feeling the need to get a “job.” A lot of people don’t get that chance to contemplate because they have other things to do… like survive and put a meal on the table. To think about comma usage is truly a luxury.

I am so thankful that I get to spend a little bit of each day writing to you all. It may be a slightly luftmensch job. It might pay no bills. It might contribute very little to the world. But I am so fortunate to get to do it. And I will try not to get lost in that thought. I thank you all.