We recently explored xenia – this emotion word that begins with the letter X. Today I’m exploring another form of this word, xenial. (The limited emotive words that begin with the letter X. (She smiles and rolls her eyes in her head.) A reminder about what xenial is – the feeling of being hospitable to strangers.

Where do you feel it in your body when graciously extending yourself to a stranger? Xenia presents itself in my body as a shield around my heart, and then it melts into a beautiful smiley face as warmth radiates. It starts out feeling guarded, like I need to protect myself, and then I always end up walking away feeling lighter and strangely warmed. This stems from my caution around strangers, from a safety perspective, and then when I’m able to walk away with no negative consequences, it feels good. My truster is still learning how to trust.

This emotion serves to help me tip-toe into meeting new people or sharing a spot of random kindness. This is still a relatively new vocabulary word for me. I’m using it a little more now though.

Perhaps you already understood xenial and its meaning, or maybe you learned about a new one today. In the spirit of feeling xenial, I offer you this opportunity to share your most recent experiments with extending hospitality to strangers. I want to hear your stories! Try something new day — extend kindness to a stranger and then check in with your feelings and observe what happens.

Our feelings are fluid and color our life experiences…

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