asking moments

have you ever wondered why we ask someone how they are doing

is it just to fill up empty air

is it a knee-jerk question

is there a thinking the question might be expected so we had better ask it

is it simply a rote statement that rolls off our tongue

do we really want to invest time and energy in hearing an answer

and if an answer is forthcoming
to a question that was not sincere
how do we handle the response

toss it

drop it

ignore it

is there an awareness that it is not the words of the answer that are
carelessly received

it is someone's heart
tossed
dropped
ignored

and we do not have the right to do that to one another

if we are not willing to hear an answer
we should never ever ask the question

it is just too cruel