The phrase "How are you?" should change the world

   You know how we do that thing?  That thing where we pretend to be really excited about running into people with whom we are only remotely acquainted?

   I'm actually bummed less by the insincerity of our social antics and more by the fact that we don't genuinely care.  "How are you?" isn't a literal question.  Nobody actually wants to stop what they're doing or where they're going and hear about somebody's life.  Asking "How are you?" is simply a polite acknowledgement that a person exists.

   There are times where we need to get somewhere and we really don't have the time to hear about someone's day.  In that case, a "Hi!" will do just fine, but when we ask, "How are you?" we should mean it.  We should be willing to set aside whatever we're doing and intently listen to a person's story, absorbing details and banking them away to ask them about it later.
   Being attentive to others is a discipline, it doesn't come easily for most of us.  However, I believe that good listeners can radically influence other people for good, because being heard is one of the most healing, empowering gifts we can ever receive.  "How are you?" is meant to be a doorway into relational depth, not a curtly tossed phrase that is usually returned with "Fine."