How are you?

When someone asks you "How are you?", how do you respond? Do you reply by saying "I'm fine thanks and yourself?" or "I'm alright" or "Good thank you" ?? Are your answers ever truly what you mean? If you are having a horrible day and your boss is on your case because they're having a horrible day or because finances are tight or the kids are making you mad or someone or something is making you stress or worry or whatever... do you still say "I'm fine thank you" ? Of course you do. Well, most of the time. And depends on who's asking I guess. It's natural for all of us. We don't want the world to know we're suffering or we're sad or depressed or stressed. We want the world to think we're fine. By why? Maybe by doing so we try and make ourselves believe that we're fine. Isn't that so?

I think in many cases it is. We hide so much from the world, from our family, our friends. We want to deal with it ourselves. I'm definitely guilty of this. I do it all the time. Whereas most of the time in the strangest of moods or worrying about this or that. I think I want to make myself believe everything is fine, even if it's just to get through another day. Because tomorrow will be better. Right?

I read the nicest email the other day... about a guy who's car breaks down and his boss comes to help him and she takes him home. When they get to his home, he invites her in for coffee. And as they walk towards the front door, the guy stops at a small tree in front of his house and touches a couple of the leaves and branches one by one before he heads into the house. After coffee, he sees his boss out the door and, hardly containing her curiosity, she asks the man what on earth he was doing with the plant before he entered the house? He told her that the tree, in fact, was a worry tree. He comes home every day and leaves his worries and problems hanging on the tree outside his home for God to take care of because, he says, those worries and problems do not belong in his home with his wife and children. He just wants happiness there. And every morning when he walks out the door, he stops and collects his worries and problems off the tree again to try and deal with it during the day. Strange thing is... there are always less of them in the morning than he remembers leaving there the night before.

How cool is that? That God deals with your worries and problems while you're asleep? While you're loving and hugging your family? I think this is how it should be, really. Because honestly, what are those worries and problems going to bring you except strife? They weigh you down and makes your home life strained. Don't you agree? That's just my opinion.

Although, I do worry sometimes if I don't maybe have the Ostrich Syndrome. That's what I call it. Or Head-in-Hole syndrome. Get it? It's as if I put my head in a hole and hope for the best. I just hope my problems and issues and worries will magically disappear. I know it's terrible. And I know it doesn't solve anything. But it makes me feel better, believe me. Just don't do what I do. Bad idea.

Good thing is... I'm getting out of that hole now. I'm really starting to deal with my issues, worries, problems and wants head-on. I'm really going to work for what I want. And in doing that I will deal with a lot of my issues and my problems as well. Ain't that the life?! Heehee!

Do you do what I do? How do you deal with it?