A Hello to YOU, reading this. Thank you for choosing to engage in this endeavor, this humanist course on family life ceremonies.
Let’s address the ritual of hellos as a prequel ~ Hellos are indeed micro-ceremonies in themselves. Greetings are among the most abundant and consequential opportunities for ritual and ceremony in any day of any life. To bring awareness to hello is to pause before entering, to nod, to slow down, to take care.
How we say “Hello” addresses a core notion of humanism: that how human beings treat one another truly matters. Learning to say hello in a few languages has enormous benefits beyond the fun of diverse sounds. Likewise, when you ask another, “How are you?” listening to the answer matters.
Activity: Play around with the ritual of greeting, the ceremony of Hello. In your own transitions, take a moment to notice what it feels like to be looked at and greeted, or not, before diving into a work situation, when you enter a store, or upon arriving home.
With people you see regularly, you may enjoy making a signature handshake – a sequence of one to three moves you master together.
Practice: Here is a gift to add to your greetings repertoire: It’s called HIGH-PEACE/hi peace, or “the mindful high five.” It goes, “My two ‘peace fingertips’ reach out to meet yours.” One makes the peace symbol with the index and middle finger and touches with these gentle human antennas. It brings certain peace into any informal interaction. Peace is spontaneously transmitted as both a signal and symbol simply by doing it. It literally slows down the greeting experience, compared to the more common “high 5” or even a handshake. HIGH-PEACE/hi peace, if you try it, takes a certain focus. It takes a certain eye-hand precision and coordinated connection of timing as it slows down two people, both focusing on the connection point.
- Stick out your tongue Tibet
- Bump noses Qatar, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates
- Air kiss on the cheek France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Latin America, Ukraine, and Quebec, Canada
- Rub noses (and sometimes foreheads) New Zealand
- Shake hands Botswana, China, Germany, Zambia, Rwanda, and the Middle East
- Clap your hands Zimbabwe & Mozambique
- Put your hand on your heart Malaysia
- Bow Cambodia, India, Nepal, Laos, Thailand, and Japan
- Sniff faces Greenland & Tuvalu (Oceania)
- Greeting your elders before younger people Asia & Africa
