I honestly am not sure why this hit me so strongly, but it did.

"Namast is a salutation which essentially means that I greet and acknowledge the God-Spirit that resides within you.

"Ram Dass describes it this way [Namast means] "I honor the place in you in which the entire universe dwells. I honor the place in you which is of love, of truth, of light, and of peace. When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, we are one."

"This greeting is usually done with a gesture of hands held close to the heart in prayer position. It is a a wonderful way of expressing love and respect for our fellows."

Wouldn't it be absolutely amazing if we could relate to every person who comes into our lives in this way? The old man driving 50 in a 65 zone when you're running late getting your son to baseball practice; the cashier who has obviously not had a good day; the ex-spouse who seems determined to make your road bumpy; the telemarkter who calls in middle of dinner; the Burger King employee who forgot to put your fries in the bag; and on and on and on.

I don't expect myself to be perfect, but I would love to grow in love, compassion, non-judgement and tolerance to the point that I am 'living Namaste'. In this world of fighting, slaughter, lying, cheating, mistrust, disrespect...maybe the way we truly heal a planet and a people is to each grow to 'be Namaste' - one person at a time, one cashier at a time, one 'ex' at a time and one prayer at a time.