"Fine"

Why do we answer "fine" so often when asked how we are?  Why does the person who asked let us answer with such a nondescript response?

Fine doesn't mean anything.  Fine is the equivalent to "I'll give you an answer, but I don't really want to tell you how I am."  When I answer that I'm fine, I think, "I'm not really fine, but I don't know that you want to hear how I really am so this will do."

What do we do?  How do we become real with others and let them be real with us?  How do we set ourselves aside and care deeply about another's day?

I don't know the answer to those questions, but I have some thoughts.

 What would happen if we asked our neighbor how they were then heard their answer and didn't let them answer "fine."  Perhaps we could ask them to tell us more, they might believe we care and we wouldn't simply pass each other by pretending to be fine.

How many "fine" days could we improve by pausing just a bit?