I like to consider myself truthful, honest and genuine, but I just had a thought that maybe I am not so much. I don't lie, well, not really. I do hold back sometimes, or "sugar coat" things or word them so that they don't seem so bad.

     I don't really think I am the only one who will claim to be fine when I am not, but I think we all do it for the same reasons. Sometimes, because we don't really want to talk about whatever it is, or because we just don't want to talk about it with that person. Maybe we just don't want to burden them with our problem/s for whatever reason.

     In reality, I think we all know, on some level, that sometimes that question is not genuine. The person asking is only being polite. Don't get me wrong, I know that there are those that are really asking because they care, but we all know who they are in our own lives and we know how to answer them.

     We all know who we can turn to when we need to talk about something, need to vent or just a sounding board. We know the ones we can trust our secrets with, just as much as we know those that are only looking for gossip or are just following etiquette.

     I used to answer that I was "tired" just because I felt like the person asking was just being nice and expected to hear "fine". So now, looking back, I wonder who is more genuine in these moments. Are those that ask out of some obligation to be "polite" or is it those that oblige and respond with "fine" or "good" out of the same respect.

     What would the world really be like if we only greeted people with real honesty and responded in like fashion? Does this social dance make the world really that much better? Is this a dying practice?

     I have seen various quotes pertaining to being "nice" to others because it can change their day, and read stories of simple acts of kindness that seemingly changed the course of someone's life. Not trying to discredit them or anything; mainly because I truly want to believe that such goodness still exists in our world today, but I wonder if false kindness does more harm than good.

     Is it possible that these little "lies" of interest or concern are capable of causing more hurt in the long run. It is very easy to misread someone, especially when we get so caught up in impersonal communications like texts and social media. It is easy to forget the power our words have, especially those that aren't spoken.

     Written words have power, and can be misconstrued. Written words are like art, they can have different meanings to different people. Songs, pictures, poems, paintings, all works of art that can speak to us all in various ways, even to one of us depending on our mood.

     The spoken word, though, holds much more power. Words spoken with a kind voice are taken one way, while the same words spoken in an angry voice convey a very different message. Our voice tone, our body language, our stance and gestures, the volume of our voice and the inflections we use, all combine to create the actual message of our spoken words.