It is Always Great to be with you

A few years ago I started listening to a particular morning radio show which featured a likeable host and a cheery business correspondent who would come on for a few minutes at the end of each hour and give a stock market report and engage in a witty exchange with the host. I noticed that the guest unfailingly greeted the host with "good morning" and something along the lines of "it is always great to be with you". When I first heard it I thought it sounded a bit contrived, but as I continued to listen to the show and get to know the host I came to realise how sincere it was, and that its repetition made it not trite but authentic. And then one day I tried it myself, when I was shaking hands and parting ways with an acquaintance who was not exactly a close friend but someone whose company I nonetheless invariably enjoyed. "It is always a pleasure to see you" I said, and as I was saying it I felt it, every syllable slowly played out and for the first time in my life I realised that I really meant the words I was saying as I bade this man farewell, that it really had been a pleasure to see him and that it always was, and that is was my joy and pleasure to share that fact with him at that moment.