What I've Learned From My Son - 7

#7 Welcome the new with a hearty introduction.

Every time I give my son the name of something new, he responds by saying, "Hi [new thing]!" For instance, I told him he was eating chicken, and he promptly said, "Hi chicken!" I said, "This is your sock," he said, "Hi sock!" and so on. It is one of my favorite things that he does. What a great way to welcome something unfamiliar into his world and into his vocabulary. He instinctively creates a relationship to the new thing by enthusiastically saying "hi," befriending it, which breaks down the barrier of unfamiliarity with openness and respect. I've since thought about all the times I've met someone new, and how in that initial moment of introduction, as I am being told the person's name, it's almost as if I go momentarily deaf, whether out of shyness or nervousness, and if you were to ask me that person's name two minutes later, I wouldn't be able to tell you. I go through the niceties of a civil introduction, but I'm not really present or embracing the opportunity to sincerely make a new connection. Or, I think about the new situations I've found myself in and how rather than embracing them, I've stressed about all the awful possibilities rather than basking in the potential for success and happiness. Next time I meet a new person, I would like to say, "Hi [person's name]" and really mean it, really connect. Next time I'm in a new situation, I'd like to meet it head-on with a hearty, "Hi [new situation]!" The power of a word as small as "hi" is immense, single-handedly piercing through the heart of the unfamiliar, leaving it powerless to intimidate, and transforming it into something to which we can connect, with enthusiasm and open arms.