Social Protocol

“Hello, how are you?” “Fine thanks, how are you?” “Oh, I'm fine too, thank you very much.” That is the traditional greeting exchange. It is not just considered important to enquire about the other person's well-being, it is equally important for the addressee to reply that they are “fine”. To say anything else might be construed as impolite. So there we have it. A world where social protocol requires us all to lie through our teeth about how we are feeling. If you're not so fine today, say so! In polite conversation people don't tell each other how they are truly feeling or what they really think. They simply exchange pleasantries. They make bland remarks about the weather or the time of year. The objective is to achieve a discourse free of controversy and to give away as little as possible about either participant's true personality or state of being. Why do we do this? I forget. I'm not sure that I ever did know. Still, though, it somehow seems that real honesty is taboo. But for me, well, social protocol does not apply to me … I say it like it is and I expect the same from the person I am talking to! This way everyone knows exactly the state of being and the true personality of the other.

Searches and Conclusions

When you have lost something and eventually find it - where does it turn out to be?  Always in the very last place you have looked! Searches continue until there is no longer any need for them to carry on. Dramas unfold until all the participants are tired of enacting them. You can end a stressful situation by refusing to play your part in it any more. When we stop looking or fighting or fearing or arguing, others soon stop too. Exert a positive influence today!