In the Zulu dialect of South Africa, when people meet, they greet each other as follows:
Sawubona (I see you)
Kgikhona (I am here)
Imagine what it would be like to meet and say to each other: I see you! It is something that we all need: to be seen, noticed, understood, accepted, the way we are. And yet, how many times did we not have the feeling that we are not understood, that we are not heard, that we speak at cross purposes with others? Those around have various impressions of us, which are mainly generated by two factors:
- By the way the interlocutor thinks (based on their own experiences, education, interactions)
- By the ‘masks’ that we wear in society. Others do not see who we truly are because we do not show our true being. We show who we think others should see, who we think will fit the current situation
Maybe we are afraid that we might get hurt, maybe we feel inadequate, maybe we are still searching, and this journey towards ourselves will come with time. Our true being is the pearl hidden in the shell; we know it is there, but it takes time to muster the courage to bring it to the surface.
Nevertheless, the greatest courage that we can take accountability of is to be seen the way we truly are.
