I have discovered, when casually meeting an acquaintance, one gets a great deal of spontaneous information for the asking. Granted, the enquiry – if it is to be effectual –  goes beyond a dismissive comment about the weather. You ensure to ask directly, “So, what’d you do today?”

The innocuous query is in fact an interrogation. Properly addressed it instantly leads to a wealth of unanticipated information and intelligence. Partly it is a nutrition afforded because of the bluntness of the inquisition. The unsuspecting candidate is invited summarily to explain himself or herself. And just as for most fish in the pond, the innocent bait is too good to be ignored.

Most of us, when abruptly asked what we did today, are instantly inclined to cover our tracks. The protective instinct is to gather historic data as evidence that indeed we have done something today, something that may qualify as noteworthy or something to merit the sustainability of our contribution to life and society. Certainly there are those who, when confronted with a request for an account of themselves, react differently, preferring instead to see the breezy invitation as a violation of private territory. But normally meaningful acquaintances rise to the challenge and pursue at least a moderate inclination to advocate and share. Very often the narrative quickly shifts to more than platitudes. It is at this juncture one discovers the full value and intensity of the response to the indifferent provocation.

As frequently as the masses on the planet have been compared to ants, and as anxious as we are to surmount the imputed regularity and commonality so distantly attributed to us, the plain truth is that, in answer to, “So, what’d you do today?“, we normally have a limited agenda.  Our productive side is usually confined to work/study, family, exercise, groceries, hardware and entertainment. The real absorptions surround limiting our excesses or moderations; or, dealing with problems related to one or another of our attempts at consequence, exhibition or self-expression.  In the result, whatever we’re told in answer to the question is often a condensed abbreviation of a much deeper well.

The attentive listener will generously forebear the tale being related. Quite apart from the etiquette of being engrossed, hidden within the grains of the sketch being related are invariably elements of stringent effect. It then turns upon the examiner to respond, to strengthen the moorings, to enable further useful dilation.

As I have so often said, the Universe is ultimately personal. Just as confidence comes from within and from no one else, our account of life is our own. It may be maudlin or comic, brief or detailed, simple or complicated, happy or sad, cherished or abhorred, positive or fearful.  Whatever the portrayal or chronology, the view is from one perspective only. The brevity of the question does not haunt the mystical possibilities. Gathering gems from an unopened chest before our eyes.

So, what’d you do today?

Featured image: Orange Horse Studio
Orange Horse Studio