Happy Wednesday Reader!
Here's 1 teaching, 2 questions, and 3 resources to explore this week:
One of my least favorite questions: “How are you doing?”
This question is part of the social fabric of our relational spaces here in the United States. It’s engrained in our cultural vernacular and our understanding of what it means to “connect” with one another. So, despite it being one of my least favorite questions, it's not like I never ask it – sometimes it just slips off the tongue.
But here’s why I don’t think it’s an appropriate question most of the time.
When this question is asked, the curiosity of the asker is rarely aligned with the depth the question invokes and the level of consent required to engage it.
To illustrate this, here are some common examples of how this question tends to show up.
None of these examples lead to actual depth or consent-based connection.
But what if you’re good friends or family with someone going through a hard time? A person who is deep in their own unique grieving process? What if you know someone who might really want a check-in with you?
Check the alignment of the situation:
Grief Educator Mandy Capehart writes this for us:
[I have bolded key phrases to place emphasis on them.]
Sending you good vibes,
Andrew
Inner work frameworks, practices, and questions – all in a five-minute read. Delivered to your inbox every Wednesday morning before you even wake up. Written and curated by Andrew Lang.
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