A few days back, I got a call from one of my friends - just a while of the usual chattering. Then, all of a sudden she asked, "You are happy, right?" I felt a bit weird because no one had asked me that particular question. All sorts of questions, like, 'How are you?', 'What are you doing?', 'How is the weather?' and many more how's and what's will be asked. I think that the person might be deductive reasoning with my answers and coming into some conclusions. We all do this all the time. We weigh others' life in our balance to see if they are happy! But this one question caught me thinking.
My friend is aware that I have some health problems, but yet she just wanted to know if I am happy. She didn't want to measure my answers and conclude. That was the most sincere enquiry I have ever received. It was devoid of all the social standardisations of life; not least bothered about what others think of me. At the moment I felt extremely happy and told, "Yes, I am."
If you really want to know what a person feels, shun the normalisation and do without cliché. It works; or at least, it sounds meaningful.
- Dew
