Can a morning really be good?

When someone greets another with a good morning, it is often returned with an automatic echo. Nary a thought is given to the term as if it is simply a meaningless term one has been programmed to say in passing familiar faces. Are people just compelled to say something in passing others that 'Good Morning' is a safe, impersonal, expression used to acknowledge others? Given some thought, can a morning really be universally good? Can everyone's idea of what makes a morning good be identical insofar that the meaning of the term 'Good Morning' is implicit and needs no further thought? It seems to me that a morning cannot be universally good for everyone. The word good in reference to a morning, as in every other application of the word, seems to be subject to a person's frame of mind, the weather, and whether the day holds the promise of a special event.

Starting the day in a positive frame of mind is a good indication of whether the person's view of the morning will be good. That is not to say that all those optimists will see every morning as good rather they simply present a greater chance of this view. A person in a foul mood, whether from lack of sleep or a general lack of happiness of just being alive, would have a harder time of viewing anything as good, including something benign as a morning. Likewise, someone living in the fog that settles around some when dealing with a tragedy would have a tough time viewing a morning as good. They say sunshine helps ease depression so maybe it would apply to help the other malcontents begin the day with a good morning.

The sun is a golden ball of energy that helps right the chemical balance in our brains so is the weather the key determining factor in whether a morning is good. If we all could agree on the ideal weather than perhaps this would be so but it seems not everyone enjoys the same type of weather. Some like living in an oven regardless of whether the sun is out adding it's positive influence to the body while others don't care about temperatures as long as the earth's light source is clearly visible. Some are so adamant about their ideal weather that anything else is unacceptable and is likely to lead to ill feelings about the morning.

Even the weather might be seen as irrelevant for those who have something special planned for the day. One who is celebrating a birthday or anniversary or any other of life's milestones that are generally viewed as happy events would be more inclined to see things in a good manner. Even upcoming events can lead to a positive outlook of a day. Friday mornings, with the work week's shadow stretched almost to its maximum, has a surprisingly cheerful affect on many even though they still have a full day's work ahead of them. Others in the same vantage point, however, might have to attend one of those mandatory events that people only go to because they feel an obligation during one of their days off and are not overjoyed by the prospect, therefore, viewing the morning before with an impending dread leading to an other than good morning.

The common element, it seems, that decides whether a morning is good is a person's view. Their view of life, their view on the weather, and their view on upcoming events all help in shaping how a person views each morning. If everyone's views were the same then we could easily pin down what exactly makes a morning good and could therefore, know, each morning, whether it is a good one or not. Alas, people are different and their views are different so we will continue our empty, meaningless, robotic salutes each morning whether we view the day as good or bad.