
photo Albert Watson
I recently had the privilege of hearing Michael Messenger, President of World Vision Canada speak.
When he visits the country of Zimbabwe, the people there will greet him in their native language of Ndebele with, “Saliboni.” (means “I see you”)
To which he’ll respond, “Sikhona.” (means “I am here to be seen”)
“What I love about this greeting is that instead of checking to see how you are, it actually starts by affirming the worth and value that you have as a person.
It’s impossible to say “I see you” and then open yourself up to be seen without recognizing that the person that you’re about to speak to has a right to be there, an inherent worth, an inherent dignity.” — Michael Messenger
What a challenge this is to us in our western world.
The idea of truly stopping to “see” someone when you interact with them
to make the effort to connect and engage with them on a deeper level is something we rarely do.
I truly believe the people of Zimbabwe have something great to teach us –
when interacting with others we too need to say “Saliboni”
value their presence
and “see” them.
— J.
#quote
# life lesson
Image: artsy.net
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