sawubona

In Swaziland when you greet a person, you greet with "sawubona", which means "I see you". In return they say "yebo, sawubona", which means "yes, I see you, too".

I was watching a video on the meaning of "sawubona" by Orland Bishop. He explained this word's meaning, "I see you", as a dialogue that "establishes you as a witness" to the other person. It's an acknowledgment and an agreement that obligates a person to "affirm the reality that seeing has empowered us to investigate our mutual potential for life." Sawubona asks us, "Why are we here at the same time? What has this moment of time given us to be able to do?"

A long time ago, sawubona was more than just a "hello". It was the act of exploring the inner capacities of another person...It was the act of truly seeing a person. I think we have totally lost sight of this today. Now, we don't take the time to really see people. We just wave and get on with our lives, losing that opportunity to be interconnected with others.

I think as Christians, we need to make an effort to truly see people; to see them as human beings; to see them as someone just like ourselves; to see their hopes, desires, hurts, needs... By taking the time to truly see someone, we create this potential for God to work in awesome ways. You never know the difference you could make by taking the time to just see someone.

"Change begins with a ginuine look."
-Max Lucado, Outlive Your Life

Here's the video from the Global Oneness Project. Check out some of their other videos, too. Really awesome thing they have going on.