As I prepared to go on a trip recently, a friend said to me “Hamba Kahle”.
I had no idea what it meant. It is Zulu for “go well” and you say back “Sala Kahle” or stay well.
I love it.
I can only imagine the resonance when Mandela died of “Hamba Kahle, Madiba”.
Language is so powerful, and positive language too.
In my work with leaders, I am very conscious of language, mine and theirs, and always encouraging people to frame language positively. Energy management is so vital as leaders, and the choice to use positive language is a simple one to make to support energy across a business, organisation, movement.
Whether or not one is a believer in or proponent of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), it does bring strong awareness of the power of language, and for that alone, I encourage you to gain at least some grounding in NLP. I was fortunate to sit at the feet of a master of NLP and of language, Ed Percival, and have picked up many learnings from him.
Oh, and back to me going on that trip. Have you noticed how people automatically say to you “have a safe flight”? The sentiment is positive, yet the language tends to make me think “funny, I had no intention of having an unsafe one”. I much prefer “go well”, and love the term for flying and for life’s journey in general.
So, Hamba Kahle to you now and always.