Namaste नमस्ते

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"Light within all living beings," by Stefan Perneborg via Flickr; free to use.

I bow to the light within you: namaste. 


Before traveling to India to speak at a student conference a few years ago, I became aware of the Indian customary greeting, and what it meant. An Indian friend said, well, we don't think about the full meaning, it is just a respectful hello. However, while in India I felt deeply welcomed and respected by each person I met; many of them offering gifts upon meeting me. I treasure those gifts and the way each person made me feel. 

I try to treat people like that, and life is generally better when I do. Over the past year, I've been trying to clean up my Ancestry tree, and since mulling over this practice of namaste, to see what "beginner me" was trying to accomplish years ago. I made lots of mistakes, but the repair project has taught me so much. 

However,  I'm still struggling to honor the light within some of my ancestors and their relatives, friends, and neighbors. Records such as the "Slave Schedules"* (1850 and 1860 special Census) are really disturbing. Only the slave holders are named; those enslaved are only identified by sex and age. And I have found young children named as enslavers! Not a common practice, but I have found it twice. It seems to be a strategy to avoid taxation.

More upsetting than distant relations is my own grandfather, whom I never met. He was a convicted criminal. One of the reasons I began researching my mother's family was to understand why he abused others the way he did.I still fail to understand. But I know that he was born a baby like any other, with his own light. 

Do any of us understand the nature of evil? 

I choose to greet each day with namaste, and will continue to try to view each person I meet, whether living or passed, the same way. This week we lost Dolly Parton. She was beloved, and I think the reason is that she seemed to treat others in this way; with love and without judgement. Her light shone brightly. I've been thinking of others who shine since her death, past and present. Who are your shining ones?

Namaste.


Valorie Zimmerman


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