The Art of Saying Hello

Hello means many things. I have been thinking about this for a while. Someone once insulted the english language because the word "hello" doesn't carry a significant message, in fact, "he said", it almost sounds rude. "The person" who is nameless, because I don't know "his" name... said that in his language their greeting means something like.... "peace be to you". That's nice, it's thoughtful, and well-meaning. I too think that our greeting of a simple hello means the same, although not stated in many words. When I send a greeting of hello, I think of it in terms of acknowledging someone's presence. There isn't the expectation of further dialogue, only a gesture of acknowledgement. I guess depending on people's perceptions hello could mean, well now that I have your attention I will be dropping by in 15 minutes and we will go shopping across the border, and then fly home tomorrow.... that's a rather big hello... but that could be the intent of such a hello. There is the fleeting hello, just enough umph to divert ones attention, and then return to regular scheduled activities. It's easy to get caught up in the emotion of a hello, the tricky part is sending it with just the right amount of acknowledgement so that the receiver is enlightened but not threatened. So, say hello to that.....