How are you?

HOW are you?

How ARE you?
How are YOU?
HOW ARE YOU?

This strange script we keep performing. A greeting so familiar it’s become obnoxious.
Unanswerable without pretending.

Because if we were honest… We’d likely say:
I’m barely hanging on.
I’m tender and tired.
I’m overwhelmed—because that’s exactly how we should feel at the end of a paradigm.

We are not failing.
We are feeling: the disorientation, the rupture, the grief.  So what if we stopped pretending we’re “fine”? What if we greeted each other like fellow travelers in an unraveling world?

Not: “How are you?”
But maybe, I dunno, um… just trying some things out… “How’s the weather inside you today?” Or:
“Hi.”....Pause. Hold their gaze. Smile warmly. Breathe into the awkwardness of the moment.
“It's so nice to see you.” Or:
“I’ve been thinking about you. With all that’s been going on, I have been wondering how you feel about____x?” Or:
“Or I have decided to stop greeting people with “how are you”. Instead, I am asking them a question that connects us. Like, what have you experienced lately that made you feel connected or inspired?” 

Because the questions we ask shape the worlds we create. And in the question… is a quest.

So, here’s the invitation:

While we are deep in the work of witnessing a paradigm collapse, how should we greet each other? What should we introduce? What should our occupation be? What should our dreams be made of? Who are our gods and heroes now? Are we clear what we are really hoping for?

How should we be resourcing ourselves— what practices make sense when the old maps are burning? Do we even know how to ask the right questions for these times?

Maybe that's the start.
Not an answer.
But a better question.

Here’s my question for today: How can the mere act of greeting someone be instilled with more potency? What is the special conversation-of-now that only me and this person can have together?  

X Megan

P.S. I have decided that I should always be gathering your feedback - so if you have something to say, please let me know in this quick survey.