How Are You?

It is amazing how the simplest of questions can lead to such deep thought. How are you? For most people most of the time the short answer, the answer most hoped for, the answer most often given, is patently obvious. Fine.

In a quick exchange of greetings that is all well and good and all that is expected or required. But, what about those occasions when a close friend really wants to know? So much so, that they repeat the question again, more emphatically and with that look of genuine concern on their face. Even if you are doing 'fine', that simple, short answer, though truthful, may seem a bit terse ... like the ole brush-off.

The answer to that oft asked question is difficult for a number of reasons.

It is difficult to answer because life is, by it's nature, a very fluid situation. I may have indeed been 'fine' ten minutes ago, but now I feel somewhat less than 'fine'. And, ten minutes from now I may feel completely differently again. Perhaps feeling anger or ecstasy, or any number of a huge array of human emotions.

It is difficult to answer because it is hard to quantify. At what point am I 'fine' as opposed to not 'fine'? Where is that threshold? And what exactly am I measuring? My feelings of fineness? The fineness of my present circumstances? For the truly thoughtful, I suppose it is two separate questions. Perhaps they should be asked separately? How are things? How are you?

It is difficult to answer because we really don't know how we are doing. How often do we actually stop and consider exactly what our present situation is or exactly how we feel about it? {Please permit me a moment to make a sex based generalization. No, I am not a sexist but ... in general, women are less likely to know what their precise situation is and more likely to know how they feel about things. Us guys are more likely to have a good grasp of our situation and less likely to have given any thought whatsoever about how we feel about it.}

So, how am I?

I guess I'll have to give it some thought and get back to you on that one.