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‘How Are You?’

“I meant what I said and I said what I meant” -Dr Seuss-

How many times a day do we pass people and utter “Hi, how are you?” How many times a day are you asked to same question? Do we ever care about the answer we receive? Do we ever answer honestly ourselves?

In our daily lives, be it through Work or personal time, we meet people. We surround ourselves with people we love dearly or encounter new faces in different situations. We begin to learn and see we’re all different. These differences in us all are what makes us.

How are you really?

The man in his late forties that pops into Aura everyday at 5pm, bag slung over his shoulder as he trots up to the gym for his daily workout. Always a cheery disposition, he shouts “Hi girls, how are ye?” across the reception desk every single day! We tell him we are “great” and reciprocate “How are you?” His reply? The very same as ours.

What would we do if he replied differently? What would we say if he said “actually I’m not good today”!

Or what about the lady that religiously attends the morning Aqua Aerobics class? She smiles at us the minute she walks through the doors! Nobody would ever know if she’s having a rubbish day as her reply is always “I’m flying it”.

We are all so guilty of doing this! We all reply with a reflex of “I’m good/grand or great”. By constantly telling the world your doing fine, we are inadvertently saying we can’t not be okay! Truth be told, if we don’t acknowledge and accept how we feel, be truthful to who we are, then we cannot grow and we cannot heal.

Being Honest

How about starting this “new” approach yourself? How about breaking the mould? We shouldn’t expect off anyone else what we aren’t offering ourselves! We attract people by the qualities we display!

The next time someone asks you how you are- try being honest! Admit defeat on the days you have to! Triumph in the days that are great! Spread your true feelings to those that ask! A five second rant could be enough to make your whole day just a little brighter. Promote the fact that sometimes it’s okay not to be okay! By doing so you may spur so many to do the same! YOU could be the reason that someone feels a bit better! Just remember by asking the question- be prepared for the answer.

Sharon Healy

Aura Youghal