Clichés

We adults often take pause to chuckle at how much we find ourselves sounding like our parents, especially considering what they sounded like to us when we were the “younger generation.” Expressions like, “Is it the holiday season again, already?” and “Time flies when you’re having fun” sound trite and suggest that perhaps we don’t have anything better to say or lack imagination. But there is another possible side to the use of clichés, could it be that they just happen to fit the situation so very well?
For example, here we are in Thanksgiving week and I feel just a little self-conscious as I wish a “Happy Thanksgiving” to each practice member as he or she is preparing to leave the office today. It’s not any lack of sincerity, just the repetitive, almost obligatory sound of it. I sometimes wonder about that kind of thing when you pass someone on the street who asks, “How are you?” without pausing for or slowing down long enough to possibly receive a response. Do we just feel obliged to make the inquiry without wanting a response, as if failure to do so is a snub or slight? It seems strange that we have such tangled, complex social behaviors, doesn’t it? Yet there is a distinct difference between the insincere cliché that fits a certain hollow circumstance and the meaningful, heartfelt wishes that an appreciative moment of Thanksgiving brings.
I’m sure that many others have had these thoughts and while they even border on being tired expressions themselves, it seems useful to mention it because our words can be powerful things and perhaps we should pause occasionally to think about them. From that spirit please accept these wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving.
Due to holiday travel, office hours will be shortened this week:
Monday 8:30-5:00 Tuesday 1:00-8:00 Wednesday 8:30-5:00