O friend

Today I got a email offering an appointment to the Scientific Committee of the 14th Autism Europe Congress 2025 to be held in Dublin, Ireland. The Autism Europe Congress is a triennial scientific conference bringing together stakeholders to discuss autism research. 

What I  especially loved was that the email started with "A chara" (a traditional opening to an Irish letter – translating as “O Friend”) and ended with "Mise leas mise" (a traditional closing to an Irish letter – translating as “It is I, with respect”). 

It is so affirmative and speaks to connections filled with kindness, which all of us need a lot more of. Will definitely be contemplating on those phrases more. Parallels to Metta (Buddhist), Kalyanamastu (Sanskrit), Ofa Lahi Atu (Tongan), Ubuntu (Bantu) or a new word I came across recently Takiwatanga (the Maori word for autism, which roughly means "in our own space and time").