“I See You. I Am Here.”

I am a person who loves beginnings. I love to start a new year, have a clean slate, a blank sheet of paper. It makes sense therefore, that I am a person who loves January. I love taking the time to journal, to reflect upon the year that is passed and consider the year that is coming.



As I was carrying out my yearly ritual earlier this week, I happened upon an entry in a book by Mark Nepo. He writes about a very old and very common means of greeting for African Bushmen which involves one person saying to a friend who is arriving, “I see you.” And the reply of the one approaching is, “I am here.”

After reading about this in Nepo’s book, I knew I had found my New Year’s resolution for 2023. My goal is as simple as a greeting among friends. I am confident that I could lead an evolved and beautiful life if I could say and mean the phrase, “I see you,” to those with whom I am in relationship and “I am here,” to maintain truly mindful living.

I know that I miss a great deal of life and a great deal in my relationships because I am so preoccupied or so filled up with my own agenda or my own plans that I do not see the person I am talking to, the individuals gathered around the table or sitting together on the church pew. I often do not fully see strangers or new friends because of the prejudices I have or the generalizations that I am so quick to make. To live deeply and completely require us to see each other, really see each other and I like the mandate to carry that sight and insight into this New Year.

Also, because I have been trying to live an attentive and mindful life for a number of years I find the phrase, “I am here,” very helpful and liberating. It is a way to remind myself of exactly where I stand, exactly where I must bloom, the fleeting but very present moment of which I must be aware. It is tempting to miss today by worrying about yesterday or planning for tomorrow. “I am here,” is a reminder that all that I really have is the moment I am in.

As much as I enjoy beginnings, I often struggle with knowing how to start a new year, the changes I want to make, the goals I intend to meet. Since I like to finish what I start, meet the goals I set, I sometimes find the task of resolution-making daunting. However, this ancient African greeting sounds like the way of life I have been seeking for a very long time. It rings true to the spiritual path I am on; so for 2023 I will start with that. Hopefully, by the end of this year I will also finish in that same spirit.

I see you. I am here.

You are the light of the world. 

Yours,

Lynne