This past week I had an appointment. As I was leaving, I passed by a woman and nodded a greeting to her.
She nodded in response and said,. “ Excuse me, I saw you when you were walking into the building and said to myself that I loved your outfit and that you were beautiful. I told myself that if I saw you again, I would make sure that I tell you.”
I paused, it was one of those moments, when someone tells you something and it comes when you least expected yet most needed it. I told her “Thank you so much, I appreciate you saying that.”
She responded “There are so many times that we see another woman and admire her. We don’t take the time to let them know and say it to each other enough.”
I smiled and said, “What’s your name?” She told me and I looked at her and said, “Lisa, thank you and I see you”
She took off her shades and looked at me and said, “Thank you for seeing me, I know what if feels like to be unseen”
For the next moment, we paused and connected. Sometimes in the midst of moving and shifting, we need to take the moment to see, really see each other.
This encounter was a Sawubona moment. This is a Zulu greeting reflecting that when you look at a person they come into existence in your world, and yours in theirs. It means “I see you” In seeing each other, we are connected, you are one.
That was a Sawubona moment for the both of us, two strangers, who took literally a few moments to pause and connect. There is value when we take the time to see each other.
