At the end of pretty much every yoga or meditation class, you will hear the instructor speak to the group, with hands pressed together and head bowed, the word, “Namaste.”
That word signals the end of class, and is typically followed by the rolling up of mats, sipping from water bottles, and heading back into cars, back into the world.
If you’ve had the absolute joy of visiting the Hawaiian Islands, you were undoubtedly greeted with “Aloha!”, believed to be the universal hello/goodbye of the culture. Said at airports as you arrive, hotels as you check in, restaurants as you dine, it becomes an integral part of the vacation experience.
In many churches of multiple denominations, part of each Sunday service is a greeting of your neighbor, often with a shaking of hands and the words, “Peace be with you.” And then the service continues.
Cultures and communities are often chocked full of ancient wisdom wishes, and yet most of us are so hurried, so preoccupied, so distracted, that we recite the words without thought or feeling of what we are truly saying.
Let’s take some time to sink deeply into words frequently found in our and other cultures, and contemplate how we can live in their spirit.
Namaste: A sign of gratitude for the students’ presence and the teacher’s teachers, the sanskrit word Namaste is a single word which represents a full prayer of acknowledgment, a true seeing of the other person, and a recognition of their soul.
My soul honors your soul.
I honor the love, light, kindness and beauty within you because it is also within me.
In sharing these things we are the same, united. We are one.
Think about that.
Sit with that for a minute.
I see the light in you. I see you, and we are alike. Our hearts, our light, our souls are the same. We are one.
Aloha: Far more than a simple greeting, such as “hello” or “hi”, Aloha is believed to refer to the deeper spiritual qualities that hold us all together. While it incorporates love, respect, kindness and compassion, Aloha digs deeper, into the core of the soul, and indicates a knowing of kindred spirits. It roughly translates to “the breath of life”, that which unites us all. It is the sending and receiving of positive energy, life force, and the expression of compassion and love….with no expectation in return.
With no expectation in return.
I wish you this because you deserve it. Not because I do, not because I want you to say it back, not because you have proved worthy of it, but because I see you, and I wish you well. I honor and respect you, just because.
Just because.
Peace: Peace be with you. I leave you Peace. So many ways of saying the same thing. Peace. Tranquility. Harmony. Freedom from suffering. A sense of ease.
Peace. A way of wishing one well, wishing one safety, love and well-being.
Deep within us lies a need to see and be seen, to be recognized for being, trying, doing. Everyone has it. Everyone needs to be seen, acknowledged.
Not because they’ve proven to be successful or popular or publically visible, but because they ARE. Because the ARE HERE.
Here is our Soulprints challenge for the day. Slow down.
WAAAAAAY down.
And see people.
Strangers, family, passersby.
Really look at them, and realize they are you. They share the same world, the same love, the same heartbreak. See if you can look past the fact you’re running late or the coffee they just served is cold.
Can you SEE them, just because?
The light in me honors the light in you.
My soul honors your soul.
Just because. Just because we are the same.
SOULPRINTS 