Peace be upon you. And also upon you. This is said in every Catholic Mass. It is said as an every day greeting by Arabs and–through the contraction Shalom–also by Jews.
It occurred to me this morning, though, that there are countless ways of actually saying this. The intent is to convey love, acceptance, warmth and a more general sense that we share the wars of this world together, and thus share a deep desire for the tranquility of social harmony and rest from unnecessary battles.
Yet, this greeting can mean “I want to kill you, and take your place”. It can mean “I am profoundly jealous of you”. It can mean “I am your superior, you do what I say”.
Jesus taught, if memory serves, that his followers were to be “as innocent as doves, and as clever as serpents”. To my mind, that would mean the capacity to convey a greeting like that with perfect sincerity, but also to hear, really HEAR, what is said in return.
I have always liked the Hindu “Namaste”, which means I salute YOU, where the YOU is the spark of the divine that lives in all of us.
As far as Americans, what can we infer from our system of greeting? Hello: you are in the room, and I acknowledge your presence. Of course, it CAN also mean, as Louis Armstrong sang, “I love you”.
For myself, when I ask people how it’s going, I always try to give them a chance for an honest answer.
If we are all ships drifting in their own directions in the dark, then attention is the light that allows us to see one another, and be less alone.