How We Greet Others Says A Lot About Us

As an old (read former) English major, I love "etymology" - finding out where words come from and what they actually mean. Lately, I've be struck by how hollow our "hello" is. Basically, it has no meaning but is simply "a shout to attract attention" that was used by Alexander Graham Bell when he first answered the telephone.

Contrast this with "namaste", a sanskrit word which means "all that it best in me salutes all that is best in you" or "I bow to you. The light in me honors the light within you". Some people have further defined the word as meaning "the god in me greets the god in you". Now that's a greeting!!!

How about what they say in eastern Tibet? "Tashi delay" which means "I honor the greatness in you. I honor the place in you where lives your courage, honor, love, hope and dreams." Wow!!

And instead of a handshake, which is a holdover from medieval times when you offered your empty hand to show that you did not have a sword in it, they bow in respect to one another, placing their hands in what is understood in any culture as a gesture of prayer- palms together, fingers raised to the heavens in the middle of the chest over their heart.

I wish I had the courage to be totally counter cultural and simply start to greet all my customers, friends and family with the more intimate greetings of the east. I really do believe that small changes like this might bring some civility back to our culture. But... alas, I have a business to run and I'm afraid folks would surely think I had totally lost it. This might work in California but the midwest rust belt - not so much.

However, what I can do is be present enough at each juncture in my day that I look at the person I am speaking to and say inwardly to that person, "namaste" or "tashi delay". I can look at them with enough respect to say, "the light in me greets the light in you". My bet is that in doing so, the way I treat them will change.

Who knows? Maybe, I will be bold. Isn't it sad that it is a difficult choice to be more loving?

Einstein said it best. "How many people are trapped in their everyday habits: part numb, part frightened, part indifferent? To have a better life we must keep choosing how we are living."