NATALIE SACKET
Columnist
“Hi. How are you?”
“Good. You?”
“Good.”
Ahhhh, the common conversation of greeting. With nearly every person you meet. Since when did typical interactions become so… typical?
A friend of mine recently asked one of his study-abroad students what he had observed about Oklahoma culture since his time here. My friend received an unexpected response. The student explained that while Oklahoman manners are indeed common, they aren’t always truly genuine.
Whenever we open a door for someone else (which is sadly becoming more rare) do we even acknowledge the presence of the other individual? When we say “have a good day” do we actually wish the other a good day? Or has that become a trivial sentiment? Are we truly happy when we greet others, or are our smiles typically forced? “You’re welcome” has been replaced with “uh huh.” “Thanks” has replaced “thank you so much.” Are we actually thankful, or are we just expected to say such sentiments?
We are conditioned. We are routine. We are nongenuine. What happened to authentic interaction with others?
Perhaps it takes the viewpoint of someone from the outside for us to realize the shells of lives we have created. Without sincerity, there is no authenticity in life.
Of course I’m not telling you to quit opening doors or saying hello to others. This is just a plea for our interactions to become more sincere.
“Sincere” is derived from “sine cera,” which means “without wax.” We put so much emphasis on appearances. We choose to live as wax figures in our wax museums that we’ve carefully constructed.
Perhaps the core of it is that we’ve lost the desire to care about others. Even if you only see an individual once a day, once a week, once a month, or even once in your lifetime, every interaction can be worthwhile. Be sincere.