Originally published at Ignatian Spirituality
Can we learn a thing or two about connection from people in other countries? My recent experience in South Africa suggests we can. South Africans place a premium on hospitality, goodwill, and politeness. They consider it ill-mannered to commence business without greeting a stranger or a friend. It is considered rude to start fingering the retail goods in a store without saying, “Good Morning.”
On a recent South African tour, I learned that the Zulu greeting for hello or good morning translates to “I see you.” Sawubona is more than a greeting; it acknowledges the worth and dignity of each person in the world. One stands on the shoulders of the ancestors, our tour guide explained. Home is where generations of a family is from, not necessarily where a person lives now.
The words, I see you, stopped me in my tracks. Each of us desires to be seen, if not for our talents, then for our innate goodness. I committed the Zulu greeting to memory and used it often there: Sawubona. Sawubona. The smile came next.
More than a simple greeting, Sawubona notes the whole of one’s life experiences: the pain, the passion,
