Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Perpetually Nesting Today My Kids Reminded Me: Acknowledge Others

My faith tradition teaches me that one of the most important acts of charity that I can give to another human being is to acknowledge and honor his or her presence in my world. When another person greets me with ‘peace,’ I’m encouraged to elevate that salutation with ‘peace and mercy’ or in some cases offer my highest wishes of ‘peace, mercy and blessings.’ But this post isn’t about religion. It’s about the fact that in everyday life,  ‘Hey, how’s it going?’ isn’t really enough to honor you, or to build a connection that will withstand both of our egos battling it out in the same room. 
I would like to say that I try to move beyond, “how are you?” to something that really acknowledges that I’ve seen and reflected your state or condition, but usually, if I’m honest with myself, I’m pretty wrapped up in my own thoughts and don’t always to move outside of myself and onto you. Looking at it from this lens, I imagine that most days if I’m not careful, I could leave my fellow human beings feeling really quite invisible.
I saw my son Jeebs feel invisible today during preschool pickup. In the corner, his two favorite girlfriends were playing some elaborate pretend game and he ran up to them to say goodbye. “Alison, Aisha! I need a hug!” Aisha and Alison stopped, stared right past him and kept playing. He dissolved into tears of rejection and frustration. “Stop staring at me!” He yelled, “See me!” Half begging, half demanding, with tears streaming down his face and his body visibly deflated. 

Check out Perpetually Nesting...another blogging Mommy I follow named Kate. She touches on thought's that most people think about but don't express. Acknowledge Others.

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