"I See You"

“I have set all of my judgments of you aside, and am ready to learn what you would like for me to know about you. Please teach me.”

My family and I are movie buffs of a certain kind. We have our favorite movies that we view numerous times…but not just for entertainment. We study movies. We study movies for content, dialogue, ideas. We study actors and characters. It’s just what we do! This last weekend Russ and I watched Avatar for a second or third time. We always let our thoughts mull for a couple of days and then have conversation about our experiences and insights. Avatar is a favorite for several reasons, but what I gleaned from this viewing is a concept that still wows me.

In the movie the natives of Pandora have a greeting for one another that is simple, yet it makes me sit up and pay particular attention each time I hear it. “I see you!” It is used as we might say “Hi There! How are you?” But it is so much more than a greeting. The natives of Pandora have a very unique and particular connection to one
another. They are connected to their world, and all the creatures in it, just as they are connected to one another.

“I see you” is a greeting that gains meaning as you follow this story. In the beginning the main character, Jake Sulley, witnesses the Pandorans using it among themselves. He is curious about it but does not understand the full meaning. As the story continues, this greeting becomes one that lets him know he is included and regarded as important and vital. And in the end it is a greeting that restores him to the Pandorans as a leader and the fulfillment of a long held prophecy (like his contract?).

Every time I watch this movie, I think, we should include this greeting in our Freedom training somewhere! It is so appropriate for the work we do. It is more than saying that I see your outer person, I see your clothes, your hair, your physical body. Its meaning would be something like “I have set all of my judgments of you aside, and am ready to learn what you would like for me to know about you. Please teach me.”

This is in a nutshell, what we teach in Roots and Wings. “I see you” is a greeting of honor, acknowledgement, acceptance, and discovery. It is a very loving greeting. Imagine what it might allow with you in your relationship with your children. Most of us believe that we are the owners of our children and know everything there is to know about them. There is nothing left to discover! What a limiting belief that is…and so hard for those we love the most. This greeting would also unlock a new level of intimacy and connection with a partner
or spouse.

There is so much more to be discovered within these three words. I challenge you to take them inside of you and learn as much as you can from them.
And check out the movie. There are many great lessons within its story line if one chooses to study it.

“I see you”! Love ,
Pat Hardesty