How are you?

Generally speaking, before I post a new blog I always go through and read previous postings. So, to post my most recent thoughts I noticed will make me sound quite wishy-washy. But oh well.

When someone asks, "how are you?" or even, "how was your day?" How do you respond? "Good. You(rs)?" Probably. Why are people so quick to claim goodness as their state of being? Often times, they are quite not okay much less "good."
 Perhaps to follow etiquette. That's just the way the conversation works, why question it? most would probably say. Just follow the status quo. Be good! That's what the other person wants to hear.
 Or perhaps deep down, they know that the reason everybody says a simple, one-word, positive answer is because the inquirer doesn't really care for the response. They're simply being polite in asking. Why tell someone how you're really feeling when they don't care to hear more than a one-word reply anyway?
 Or maybe, subconsciously, they realize that, God forbid, life really is good.


The way I see people, including myself, is that we are perfect in our imperfections. Granted, in Corinthians Paul states "when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears". Yes, of course, but not quite what I'm talking about exactly.
 My theory about why I am able to love others is simply that it is in our imperfections, our quirks and mistakes, personality flaws, call it what you will, we are who we are. Perfect. Sounds contradicting, considering the definition of perfection is flawless, without defect. And yes we should always try to be better, but when we look at another person... we should see them not as disastrously flawed. How can you love such? No. We have to look at them with a more positive outlook and love them for every part of who their being-- strengths and weaknesses, charms and quirks. We must use positive illusions in our relationships.


Oops.
I almost forgot my original point.

Days are like people. They have their ups and downs, highs and lows; they have their quirks. But at the end of the day, we are alive, blessed, and loved. Yes. We are "good". For example: today. I did great at my poster presentation. I met some awesome new people.  I impressed my mentor/supervisor. I ate a delicious lunch. Timing on everything was perfect. Then it ended with a fantastic evening with a very dear friend, where we fixed some old mix-ups and cooked/ate dinner together. It was great. However, I was also quite ill all day. I sounded nasal-y every time I spoke. I coughed and sniffled all day, so I had a sore throat and a crap-ton of used tissues. My feet hurt from wearing heels. And I'm completely and utterly exhausted beyond words, yet still cannot sleep due to my sickness-- which the doctor insisted I only needed to take some Tylenol and it would go away, despite that I'm coughing up green gunk (a sign of infection).
Overall... they're minor negativities. I'm sick. Yuck. So what? It was just a quirk of the day. Sickness didn't ruin pleasantry. So... yes. My day was good.

Likewise, life is like days. Afterall, life is simply the sum of days. If each day, or nearly each day, we conclude our blessings outweigh our negative quirks, then doesn't that mean that "we" are good?

I think so.

Maybe, just maybe, that's the reason why we automatically respond as we do. If not.. maybe it should be.



Conclusion: You don't have to break etiquette when asked, but when you say "i'm good" or "my day was good", consider two things. Was it really good? But more importantly, consider "why was it good?" Trust me. 90% of the time, the good did outweigh the bad.