Happy February!

Just like that, January is gone and behind us. How is that even possible? We were still talking about the drama and the trauma of 2020 to our collective consciousness. Now, 1/12 of the new year is behind us. It feels like a fog to me.

As we are getting vaccinated and the borders are opening up slowly, I have had the pleasure of hosting family again.

My niece came for a visit this past month.

It was wonderful. I did not get to blog as often as I like, but time spent with her felt like an absolute joy. I treasure that. I know what matters to me, and time spent with family and friends always trumps all other activities.

I won’t regret that at the end of my life. That is for sure.

When she was here, she shared something amazing with me. She lives and works in Portland, Oregon. She is single and like most of the country lives a pretty solitary life. She is lucky to be still employed but it’s all zoom, all day long. When she got here, she felt like as if she got a new lease on life.

“with all the rain and COVID precautions”, she said, “we end up walking with our heads down and tucked into our jackets.”

No more chance for random eye contact. No discernable smile being exchanged with people on the streets.

You just try to not exist. As if the moment you are out, you wish you were back inside, limiting human contact in every way possible.

In Hawaii, it’s different. We look up to the sky and the sun. We are all masked but clearly look each other in the eye and acknowledge one another as we pass each other in the streets.

This got me thinking. When I was working in Sacramento, California, I was hand selected by our administration as one of the doctors to create a culture change in our medical group. Apparently, I was the kind of doctor they wanted others to emulate. We went through this week long training, that was by the same people that trained Disney employees. It was fascinating.

They talked about trying to be ‘belly button’ people in this world.

Apparently I am one of those people.

The idea is simple. There are people who acknowledge you when you approach them. They literally move their bodies toward you. Belly button to belly button. They don’t keep typing on the computer when you approach them. They stop what they are doing, turn their whole body toward you, acknowledge you and engage with what you have to say.

All Disney employees get that training. Whether you are a greeter at the entrance of a store, or a janitor tending to the restrooms, they all pivot, acknowledge you and make sure you feel heard.

I like that lesson. I have tried to teach it to my children.

We have this one life to live. How do we choose to show up for one another? Face down avoiding interaction with people around us, body turned away from those who reach out to us?

Or do we make every effort to REALLY see and listen to other people?

I always say that when you are truly curious about someone else’s humanity, there is no more room for judgment and comparison.

Try interacting with people around you, belly button to belly button, face up and not down and see their attitude change as much as yours.

With so much love and Aloha.