Context is everything, isn’t it? The “how are you?” While walking past is not a literal question, but a stylized greeting only. Because I’m loathe to over-share, I’m always assessing how well do I know this person, how much time might we have, where are we, what’s going on in their life, etc. And don’t you find it much easier to reply to more specific queries that thoughtful people issue, rather than the all-encompassing “how are you”? My more acute and sensitive friends and acquaintances ask things like “how did your test results come out?” Or “what are your kids up to?” Or even “what are you up to/reading/working on/doing these days?” “How are you?” can seem awfully “generic” or plain lazy from a friend, but quite acceptable (if hard to answer) from an acquaintance.
Thanks for the video; you got me thinking this morning!
Context is everything, isn’t it? The “how are you?” While walking past is not a literal question, but a stylized greeting only. Because I’m loathe to over-share, I’m always assessing how well do I know this person, how much time might we have, where are we, what’s going on in their life, etc. And don’t you find it much easier to reply to more specific queries that thoughtful people issue, rather than the all-encompassing “how are you”? My more acute and sensitive friends and acquaintances ask things like “how did your test results come out?” Or “what are your kids up to?” Or even “what are you up to/reading/working on/doing these days?” “How are you?” can seem awfully “generic” or plain lazy from a friend, but quite acceptable (if hard to answer) from an acquaintance.
Thanks for the video; you got me thinking this morning!