![]() My absolute favorite way of saying good-bye is a German farewell. And still another is to simply say, “Good-bye.” Or the old fashioned “Come again,” or “Come visit us,” or “I look forward to seeing you again,” are other ways to convey a mindful good-bye. When I think about the meaningful good-byes I’ve said, they include telling people (or being told) how much I enjoyed my time with them. I think many people have a hard time saying good-bye in this culture, and so we tend to do it to get it overwith and thus mindfulness is not part of the process. I think whatever words we use to say our good-byes need to be mindful. What about tomorrow, next week, or next year? Changing the word “nice to “good” doesn’t change this aspect of the phrase. Then comes my other problem… someone is wishing me well for TODAY. First of all “nice” doesn’t really say anything. I don’t have any particular reason for these phrases, other than trying to avoid the “Have a nice day” platitude that grates on my nerves. I tend to say, “Take care,” or “See you later,” depending on whether I plan to see that person again soon. Love it? When you switch from “nice” to “good” what difference does that make? Even if you don’t comment, I hope you have a GOOD day. What is your history with this phrase? Hate it? Use it sparingly. I further resolve not to use the phrase flippantly, to look the other person in the eye, and to make a real Presence connection when I do so. I will look for ways to use this phrase, “Have a GOOD day” when it seems appropriate. I’ve decided on an action step based on all this reflection and conversation at the end of 2014. This will be my last post in the seven-part series about A Good Day. Why am I writing about this phrase today? Wikipedia has an amazingly detailed entry on this phrase, including arguments pro and con. Just Google his name and the phrase and you can hear him. George Carlin became famous for his anti- “Have a Nice Day” routine laced with four-letter words. ![]() Social critics found it easy to bash the superficiality of what became the ubiquitous end of a clerk-customer exchange in stores. It seemed to personalize his magisterial presence in the pulpit.īut then came the backlash. I remember when the president of Eastern Mennonite College began ending his chapel talks in the late 1960’s with that phrase. In America, in the decade that followed The Sound of Music, a new phrase came into popular parlance: “Have a nice day.” Witness this song written for English speakers about a famous multi-lingual Austrian family: Other languages, French, German, and Spanish, for example, have much more graceful words than the English “Good-Bye” or “So long!” ![]()
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