“Have a good day.” How many times per week do we say it? How many times did we say it today? Then there is, “How was your day?” Social convention has led us into a loop of daily day inquiry. We interrogate our kids when they arrive home from school. We wish the barista at our local morning coffee stop to have a positive life interaction. We probably care, at least in some nominal brothers-and-sisters-of-the-human-struggle sort of way, but do we listen to the answers with any degree of conscience intent to act upon them?
It might be impossible to engage with the machinations of every human with which we interact daily. Even if we did try to dig in, it is somewhat unlikely that the object of our intention would appreciate it. Imagine if we were to offer directive advice to everyone that we see who appears to be struggling to realize their best self. So, we keep it light. Rightly, we tend toward responses like, “It’s been a great day” or “Thanks, you have a good day, too.” But are we missing something if we don’t contemplate the way we respond and the way we hear the responses given?
What would be the value in the counsel of relative strangers? If we’ve had a bad day, do we envision that they might be able to lift us from our difficult toil if only we’d tell them about it? Do we assume that just because they asked that they intend to listen to our answer and commit to working on the remedy with us or for us? Is the simple urging that we “have a good one” simply a hope to send some faint positive message into the world? If we take it for what it’s worth, does it work?
