“Sawubona!”
This is how the Zulu, a native people of Southern Africa, greet one another. It literally means, “I see you.”
Sawubona isn’t just about seeing you physically; it’s about giving the gift of acknowledgment and recognition to your very existence.
The response to Sawubona is Ngikhona, which means, “I am here.” The idea behind this simple exchange is that before you saw me, I didn’t exist—and by seeing me, you bring me into being.
It stems from the African worldview of Ubuntu (literally: I am because you are), which maintains that individuals need other people to ultimately be fulfilled.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu described Ubuntu as the essence of being human. He went on to say that:
A person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished.
Indeed, that “proper self-assurance” is what allows us to shift our focus off ourselves and onto others.
Yet, how many people do we walk by everyday—people we don’t the take time to really see? Are we in some small way denying their existence as we rush by to check off our tasks and execute our plans?
I don’t know; but I do know how powerful it is when someone stops and intentionally acknowledges me. It doesn’t take time—it takes focus.
So be generous with your time and attention today. Slow down a bit. Maybe even stop. Acknowledge the people passing through your day. Make space for them. Bring them into being.
That’s the kind of person others want to be around. That’s the kind of person others want to work with. That’s the kind of person others trust.
For Reflection: Who are you going to take the time to really see today?
