A wish in every greeting
Dear All,
I share these words with you in love, in the hope that they may serve as a loving and gentle reminder to remember what is truly important in life, in your life.
Recently I was heading towards my destination on foot, it was a day of heavy rain and even gale force winds but I was determined to complete the journey on foot so I put on my rain suit and set off. During the walk I noticed two young men in the distance working on what appeared to be local construction work. These men looked at me with a slightly strange look, which in all honesty I am used to and which usually stems from either my rather uncharming, pale-colored rain suit from the 90s or, and this is usually the reason for the remarkable (and understandable) looks, the fact that I wear sandals all year round and try to make them waterproof with socks…yes, I know…let's just say, I am no stranger to a strange look! Once I got closer, I saw that one of these men was putting on his rain suit in the strong wind and when I saw this scene, I realised that, since it was still early in the morning, these men had a long day ahead of them in these severe weather conditions. I walked up to this man and wished him a good morning as well as a pleasant working day. As I said this the man looked at me in a most astonishing way and seemed to be in complete amazement as if he was wondering why on earth I was greeting him. His entire face conveyed a certain sense of confusion at having just been wished good morning. (Whether it had to do with my faded rain suit or my soaked socks, I don't know, but the confusion on his face was quite evident.)
This reminded me of another moment from a few years ago when I was on the other end of a surprising greeting. Years ago I was traveling through the east of the country with a dear friend, we stopped at the local supermarket in the morning to do some shopping for the day. It was the start of a new year, a few days after New Year's Eve. When I entered the supermarket, to my great surprise, I was immediately greeted by a friendly employee who came up to me and started wishing me a wonderful new year in all joy and sincerity, followed by an enthusiastic story. This was far from a standard and mandatory greeting that was part of company custom, no, this was simply a human gesture of sincerity. This woman was sincere in her expression and even though she didn't know me and I was visibly not from the area, this didn't stop her from sharing her heart. I remember being just as surprised as the man I wrote about above, not because I didn't think it was wonderful, but because I was actually no longer used to this. I come from a village where it was common to have these kinds of everyday conversations with each other, but after years of living in busier areas I had, unfortunately, become accustomed to the sad fact that this was no longer the standard. Still, this is an example that has always stuck with me and although years have passed, this simple greeting in the supermarket is still a cherished memory.
“The best portion of a good man’s life is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love.”
As I walked further and reflected on the incident, I realised that we have slowly become accustomed to the absence of something that is not only beautiful but also essential, namely making sincere wishes for the other. What does it actually mean to wish something for each other? A 'good morning' is quickly said, but what do we actually say? Wishing someone a good morning is not just a greeting but fundamentally a wish, you express the wish to the other person that he or she may experience a beautiful morning or day. A conscious greeting is actually like a prayer, a sincere wish that we can send from the heart. When we look at it this way and consciously consider our expressions, and not fall into perfunctory habits, we can taste the potential of our words and use the power of the word to act lovingly. In doing so, we elevate unnoticed acts such as a greeting to a practice, a practice of being human to insert ourselves lovingly into the world.
At a time when our attention is divided over everything that has come to “require” our attention, at a time where many people are extremely busy simply trying to meet the issues of the day, it seems to be becoming increasingly difficult for many people to consciously make contact with themselves, let alone with the other. Please let us realise that the greatest joys and therefore the most important moments of our day are always hidden in the most unlikely and small of encounters, such as a greeting on the street or in the supermarket. There is such great pleasure in the simple joy of a greeting, in wishing the other well and finding the same recognition of life in the eyes. It's the simplest thing you can do, but it's one of the greatest joys of our everyday human experience. Let us be an example ourselves to propagate this, not from obligation, but from our hearts. Let's take a moment, every day, when you enter the supermarket, when you walk into the office, board the train or walk down the street, to wish the other person something of warmth and affection from the heart. This can be a greeting but also a sincere question, in which you pay attention to the other person, this is also a wish because you wish to take care of the other person, even if it is only for a short moment. Everything you do as a human being, every action, every expression, every word, literally every deed, is, as it were, a seed that you plant. A seed of change that has the potential to grow and bring love, beauty and joy to the world. A single smile, a greeting or a sincere question, no matter what it is, every action is like a seed you plant in the soil. It is up to you to ensure that these are seeds of love, joy and compassion.
“Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for kindness”
Dear friend, as a child I was taught that when I saw the twinkling light of a shooting star, I could make a wish. Now, every day, when I see the twinkling light in the other person's eyes, I try to feel this same invitation by wishing the other person well. My wish for every person is that we become aware of the innate potential in all of us to act in love and it makes me hopeful that with every greeting I am given the opportunity to practice this. I wish you all much patience, pleasure and, above all, joy in this continued practice of being human.
In love and reverence, sven
