Members of the Natal tribes of South African greet one another by saying “Sawa bona”, which literally means: “I see you.” The response is “Sikhona” which means: “I am here”. The greeting is part of a cultural idea, that “a person is a person because of other people.” So, until you ‘see’ me, I do not exist, and when you ‘see’ me you bring me into existence.
It takes a bizarre sort of person to go to work every day for people he (or she!) never sees, and who she might never meet face-to-face. Somehow, we are all often those people. You might see the milk hauler, but do you see the milk drinker? The egg scrambler? The pork chop sizzler? Maybe you do. Maybe you get to have the satisfaction of selling what you raise to someone who thanks you.
And so you get seen. That might make all the difference in the world to you. It makes a difference to us.
Last week, we asked you to see us, and to let us know that you do. Thank you to all the folks who responded. It makes us want to keep on working here, on the other side of your screen. We also asked you to help keep us here by sending $12 to support On Pasture (23¢ each week). If you haven’t gotten the chance to tell us you can see us, or you haven’t sent your $12 to help defray the costs and pay for the time it takes to publish On Pasture each week, please take a minute to do that.
We are glad you are there, at your screen, and on your pasture. Please see and join the On Pasture community today. Let’s see each other, and help each other grow.
