Thinking Space

Gratitude is one of the core human value. Each one of us expresses it in different ways. In fact, gratitude is such an implicit part of our culture that we don’t realise that some of our greetings are an expression of gratitude and how deep their meaning is.

The most common greeting equivalent to ‘Hello’ in one of the tribes in South Africa is ‘Sawu bona’. It means, ‘I see you’. The other person replies to it by saying ‘Sikhona’ which means ‘I am here’. This translates a deep meaning that “when you see me, you bring me into existence”.

In Hinduism we greet by saying ‘Namaste’ with hands(palms pressed) and head(slight bow) gesture, this translates to ‘I bow to the divine in you’.

Be conscious to your cultural expressions of gratitude.