Hospitality
A few weeks ago, I stayed in a hotel for the first time in over 14 months. It was surreal yet familiar – there are many differences in the ways hotels provide hospitality these days. The mask requirement meant that although I was greeted with a broad smile, it was partially hidden behind the mask.
Luckily, the clerk knew how to “smize” ala Tyra Banks.
Photo Courtesy of "Smize" - Dictionary Hour with Tyra Banks - ANTM Cycle 19 College Edition
Everything at the hotel was contact-less, mostly accomplished by phone. No one offered to take my bag to my room (and I’m not sure I would have let them anyway). The clerk’s dismay and embarrassment was palpable as he explained that because of the pandemic, there would be no housekeeping services unless I requested them. It obviously pained him not to be able to provide the customary level of hospitality.
As I walked to the elevator, I was greeted with a touchless hand sanitizer dispenser and a sign telling me to douse my hands before and after touching the elevator button.
Brave new world.
Along the hallway to my room, I noticed the “do not disturb” signs hung on many of the doors I passed, placed there out of habit rather than necessity. The whole experience was somewhat creepy - it got me thinking about the nature of hospitality.
I decided to do a little research.
The first thing that popped up was the pineapple – a centuries-old symbol of welcome and good will. I knew the pineapple was a sign of hospitality, but I didn’t really know why.
Tropical Fruit? Symbol of Fertility? Example of Fibonacci Sequence? Universal Sign of Hospitality?
All of the Above
Legend has it that Christopher Columbus was the first to bring the pineapple to Europe after learning of its delectability from villagers on the island of Guadalupe. All across the Caribbean, people welcomed visitors with pineapples hung above their doors and in the windows of their homes. The local islanders offered travelers a warm welcome, tasty food, and big hearts.
These offerings of hospitality became synonymous with the fruit, which became extremely popular in Western Europe beginning in the 16th century.
The pineapples often didn’t fare well on the sea journey from the Caribbean to Europe, meaning that pineapples were a luxury item reserved primarily for royalty and the very rich. Some with smaller pocketbooks (who nevertheless wanted to cultivate an appearance of wealth) went so far as to “rent” a pineapple to be used as a centerpiece when entertaining guests.
Photo Courtesy of the Jane Austen Centre
The story of the hospitality pineapple is interesting, but I wondered if hospitality had more to offer, so to speak.
Dictionary.com defines hospitality as “the friendly reception and treatment of guests or strangers, or the quality or disposition of receiving and treating guests and strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way.”
I had certainly experienced that form of hospitality - the act of welcoming guests or strangers in a friendly and generous way, often plying them with too much food - but I was convinced there was more to the story.
I knew that the Bible instructs us to practice hospitality, as in this verse from Saint Paul’s letter to the Romans:
“When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.”
And of course, my friend William Shakespeare, as wise as ever, noted in A Comedy of Errors, that it doesn’t really matter how much food you have to offer your guests as long as you welcome them with open arms:
“Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast.”
One of the most intriguing definitions of hospitality was offered by 18th century physician and philosopher Louis, Chevalier de Jaucort.
Source: Wikipedia
He was the most prolific contributor to the French Enlightment’s Encyclopédie, a compendium of information intended to provide insights on art, science, philosophy, history, and politics.
In the Encyclopédie, Louis de Jaucourt describes hospitality as “the virtue of a great soul that cares for the whole universe through the ties of humanity.” Wow.
His entry on “hospitality” continues, “[t]he Stoics regarded it as a duty inspired by God himself. One must, they said, do good to people who come to our countries, less for their sake than for our own interest, for the sake of virtue and in order to perfect in our souls human sentiments, which must not be limited to the ties of blood and friendship, but extended to all mortals.”
I read this translation thanks to The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert Collaborative Translation Project.
This definition is more of a “love your neighbor as yourself” kind of hospitality, and I admire its universal implications.
Hospitality on a broader, more global basis, is an appealing notion.
Dutch author, priest, pastor, and spiritual scholar Henri Nouwen took the concept of hospitality a step further, considering it on a spiritual level:
“Listening is a form of spiritual hospitality by which you invite strangers to become friends, to get to know their inner selves more fully, and even to dare to be silent with you. To listen is very hard, because it asks of us so much interior stability that we no longer need to prove ourselves by speeches, arguments, statements, or declarations. True listeners no longer have an inner need to make their presence known. They are free to receive, to welcome, to accept. . . . Listening is paying full attention to others and welcoming them into our very beings. The beauty of listening is that, those who are listened to start feeling accepted, start taking their words more seriously and discovering their own true selves.”
In this context, hospitality is not limited to providing a bed and a meal, but encompasses a way of life.
Spiritual hospitality - what a great concept.
Spiritual hospitality includes a warm welcome to anyone seeking solace, a ready ear to listen, and a genuine intent to provide comfort to others - which lifts them, and by so doing, lifts the fabric of humanity through the simple act of opening our hearts.
Can you think of a time when someone provided hospitality to you? Have you offered hospitality to someone (either in the traditional sense or the spiritual sense by lending an ear)? I’d love to hear from you!
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