Sunday, February 14, 2010

The Curse of Good

How many times has this happened to you:

It happens to me a lot

Everyday


I am walking

I see someone I know and this conversation ensues:


Me: “Hey”

Them: “Hey”

Me: “How’s it going?”

Them: “Good.”

Me: “Good.”


We both then walk our separate ways.


What does that even accomplish?

Other than acknowledging they exist…?

Maybe that

However, I am guilty of this so often everyday

I mean I am in a rush

Gotta get to class

Gotta get to work

Gotta get to the gym

The car

Home

I am a man on a mission

Places to go

People to see


In fact, I am an important person

To have a small conversation with someone would mess up my plans

Or would it?


I hope you catch the sarcasm in my writing


Because, we are all victims of the curse of “good”


This actually happened to me today

I thought about it and my thoughts were as stated above

“What did that accomplish?”


If anything its actually slightly insulting

It is as if I am saying,

“Hey, I know you are breathing,

however,

I am too busy to say how I really feel,

In fact I’m incredibly busy,

To inquire how you are doing

Would affect me.”


Now don’t get me wrong here

I am not saying that its a bad thing if you don’t have a 5 minute conversation

With everyone that you see

I would reckon that

There is a difference between acknowledging someone’s existence

And interacting with their presence


You could say I am playing with semantics

People who focus on semantics never accomplish anything

Give this a try:

Next time you are in danger of this conversation happening

Inquire of something unique about their day

If they’re holding coffee

Ask them how it is

Interact with them

It can be quick

People are affected when other people notice the small details about their life

And ask about it

It leaves an impact


Maybe its not coffee

Maybe its a book

Who knows

People will notice though


But this seems so small and trivial

I would challenge you to this though

See what happens


Jesus was a man who impacted people

Still does

When he was on this earth

I think he understood this a little bit

Matthew 8:3 reads,

“Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man….”


Jesus reached out and touched the man

He was a leper, people don’t touch lepers

Jesus did


So as small and trivial as this may be

Despite the rush of our important lives

The challenge is this:


Do not be a victim of good

Interact with people’s presence

We as a generation

The Facebook generation

Are good at being in a rush

Bad at interacting with people


Take this challenge for a week

See what happens

I dare you


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Collin...i didnt even know you had a blog! or knew how to write...kidding. but definitely! i agree with this...hmmm...love those kinds of conversations!! didnt think about asking about the coffee thing or book, nice!

Mark Mayfield said...

asking about my coffee could result in a longer response than you would like.. while we're at it, books are probably a dangerous topic too. BUT whatever you do, don't emphasize the "You" in "How are you doing." Its just creepy.

jordyn said...

i like they way you start new lines in the middle of a sentence. that sounds sarcastic, but it's really not. its fun to read in my head.

good thoughts, as well.