Saturday, March 14, 2009

Society's present acceptance (#43)

I've been struggling with how to present this observation I have about behavior in today's society. I am sure most people are aware of the greeting of "how are you?" and the response of "I'm fine". First, when people usually ask this question they really don't expect a long explanation of how we are, they really are just saying hello. Second, the usual response of, I'm fine, is not an explanation of how we are, it is just a return response of hello. Our lives are so busy that when we do meet someone unexpectantly, or in our usual hurried manner, we don't take the time to sincerely inquire into their current state of affairs. It is possible that we really don't want to know what's going on in others lives because of the complications that may spill into our own lives. In my own experience, my good will toward others has been manipulated enough to make me wary of open interaction. My wariness or cynicism, to my detriment, is unhealthy and isolating. Fate and always trying to do the right thing should be my true compass. Everything else will take care of itself. Society's present acceptable behavior may be what I observe but it should not govern how I present my response to it.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi Son ' your not alone on this subject I often thought after I've greeted someone with how are you doing, if they gave me the right reponse and somtimes I don't push for more of answer because it may be more than i want to deal with at the time. I always feel bad afterwards I wish I had been more reponsive. Oh well its something else to work on in our lives. Love Mom!