I recently crossed paths with a hungry man who fed me with symbolic language. This is the Story of the WeeHah Man. 

Not long ago, I crossed paths with a man living on the streets, and I can’t stop thinking about our interaction. 

I watched from afar as he attempted to get something to eat from several people along a busy street.  I could see he was not quite steady on his feet. He was older and shuffled as he walked.  He held his arm to him as if protecting it. 

I quickly felt drawn to share my bounty with him.

I approached him. Me, in my car. He, still in the street. I made my offering to him, and he mumbled something with a big smile. I listen to his mumblings, trying to discern if he was speaking something I might be able to understand. And then his hands began to communicate in the kinds of symbolic language that we might use in mime or charades.

He blew me a kiss…not in a vulgar way, but as a way of expressing gratitude. He touched his forehead. And then his heart…. continuing to mumble. I offered my own symbolic hand language in response. I pressed my palms together and dipped my head.

He smiled and placed his hand on my car as if to say, “We are connecting.”  Then he gleefully exclaims, “WeeeHah!”   The sound reminded me of “yeeha’s”, trills and other celebratory sounds we hear in joyful gatherings.  I answered him back… “WeeHah!”

At that, he lit up! He became bright and full of joy and life. He offered the sound again… and as I drove off, I did too.

My husband said, “You fed him in two ways today. You nourished his body and his spirit.”

As it happened, he nourished mine too!

Symbolic language was our common bond.

Symbolic language was our first language as humans. It is a shared language that transcends the structure of words and grammar. It is the primary language of children…. artists, poets, dancers, dreamers, and Creatives. It is available to us all for communication beyond the mundane. It can help us share with another or to understand ourselves more fully.

As we move more fully into a digital world, we also lean deeply into the world of symbols.  Think of how every image you post is a symbol of something you offer to the world. 

Symbolic language is one of the tools we use in Intentional Creativity®. It helps us curate meaning. As we dip into our inner world, we come out with fists full of treasures in the form of image, color, texture, and story… all of these, the sacred symbolic language of the Creatives.  

Today I am feeling deep gratitude for saying yes to that inner nudge that asked me to connect with a stranger on the street. You never know where inspiration will find you. But simple things, like moments, shared between two people, help us transcend the perceived difficulty of our differences and to find the beauty and blessing of creating with the Sacred Other.