I’m fine is the biggest lie told over a million times a day. We all say it, and it’s so natural as it rolls off the tongue and past the
lips. Occasionally it’s even true. But most of the time there’s no
truth to the phrase “I’m fine.” My mother used to say and I often answer when asked “How are you?”
instead of the standard perfunctory answer of “I’m fine” I state, “If I
get any better I won’t be able to stand myself.”
I wish and hope for that answer to be true when I give it, but if I’m truly honest with myself it’s no truer than “I’m fine.” People often laugh when I say it and it makes me feel better to bring a smile to someone’s face. For one moment I feel a small bit of pride at the accomplishment of inducing an unexpected smile on the lips of another person. A person I will probably never see again in life, but it’s the small moment of connection that lets me know I’ve caught their attention even as short lived as the exchange may be.
I think that what really creates the smile or laugh is the fact that the person is taken aback for a moment. Their realizing that what they expected to hear and what they heard from my mouth was something completely unique. Their brain processes it as unknown and the words have yet to sink in. Maybe it’s nervous laughter that escapes on the edge of their fear of the unknown. Either way I’m usually satisfied and it often turns the moment into minutes as we discuss my response.
I’ve said it many ways, sometimes with a smile on my face but most of the time I deliver the line with as blank an expression as my expressive face can manage. My every emotion has always been delivered across my face so I say the line with what I’m feeling right behind it and often that emotion is depression. Sad down cast eyes, tight lipped mouth, and furrowed brows. And then the person laughs and I noticeably brighten at their response.
Hearing another person laugh is like a verbal hug that melts away my depression. Maybe I say the line when I need to hear laughter just to get the giggle that perks up my day and spirits. So maybe I say it for purely selfish reasons.
Wouldn’t it be interesting to know what would happen in a world devoid of the phrase “I’m fine?” I mean honestly, is anyone actually fine when they say it? Really? I wonder if more people answered the question honestly what their answers would be. Or is that more than I really want to know about a person at any given time?
I wish and hope for that answer to be true when I give it, but if I’m truly honest with myself it’s no truer than “I’m fine.” People often laugh when I say it and it makes me feel better to bring a smile to someone’s face. For one moment I feel a small bit of pride at the accomplishment of inducing an unexpected smile on the lips of another person. A person I will probably never see again in life, but it’s the small moment of connection that lets me know I’ve caught their attention even as short lived as the exchange may be.
I think that what really creates the smile or laugh is the fact that the person is taken aback for a moment. Their realizing that what they expected to hear and what they heard from my mouth was something completely unique. Their brain processes it as unknown and the words have yet to sink in. Maybe it’s nervous laughter that escapes on the edge of their fear of the unknown. Either way I’m usually satisfied and it often turns the moment into minutes as we discuss my response.
I’ve said it many ways, sometimes with a smile on my face but most of the time I deliver the line with as blank an expression as my expressive face can manage. My every emotion has always been delivered across my face so I say the line with what I’m feeling right behind it and often that emotion is depression. Sad down cast eyes, tight lipped mouth, and furrowed brows. And then the person laughs and I noticeably brighten at their response.
Hearing another person laugh is like a verbal hug that melts away my depression. Maybe I say the line when I need to hear laughter just to get the giggle that perks up my day and spirits. So maybe I say it for purely selfish reasons.
Wouldn’t it be interesting to know what would happen in a world devoid of the phrase “I’m fine?” I mean honestly, is anyone actually fine when they say it? Really? I wonder if more people answered the question honestly what their answers would be. Or is that more than I really want to know about a person at any given time?
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