I am sure you have all seen what happens when you smile at someone. I am doubly sure that if more of us did it, the world would be a better place, even if for a fleeting moment. my dear old mum used to say that 'a smile is powerful.' So many times in my life that has proven to be so wonderfully true.
It works at work, with a grumpy teenage student, who walks past me with a look that tells me the 'world is on their shoulder.' I smile and say, 'Hi.' Their demeanour often changes from despondency to the beginnings of e better day. It works.
Take this morning, when I was turning out from a car park. I caught a guy crossing the road, not in a 'crash' sense; but my move surprised him, drawing a look that could only have been interpreted as, 'You silly bugger,' or something worse. I responded by waving and smiling in that sort of, 'I'm sorry, I didn't see you,' manner. He smiled in return and the world was returned to the equilibrium that I had started the day off with.
Is the smile the 'cure-all' that we we so desperately seek? NO---but it is a damned good beginning. Substitute it for the throw away insult; for the angry response that comes out of nowhere, or a physical reaction. A smile costs nothing, it hurts no one and it is contagious.
How many smiles would it take, not just in this so-called 'season of goodwill,' but every day, to help change one person's day? Does it not follow that if even only half of the recipients of a genuine smile passed that on, that the flow on effect would ripple through a community?
OK, you say, 'But what if I don't feel like smiling? I don't want to cover up when I feel bad or down.'
I am not suggesting that we all go about with this fixated foolish smile plastered on our collective faces----NO, but I am saying that it doesn't hurt to spread a little hope, because that is what a smile is--a reaching out to someone else, building a sense of being part of a community, no matter how big or small.
So, next time you come upon someone, try it---smile and see what happens. If it doesn't result in an immediate response, try again with the next person. Of course, walking down the main street of town or in a huge shopping mall may present a slightly different result, but use the smile when you can.
Merry Xmas, everyone, I say with a huge smile!
www.authorneilcoleman.com
It works at work, with a grumpy teenage student, who walks past me with a look that tells me the 'world is on their shoulder.' I smile and say, 'Hi.' Their demeanour often changes from despondency to the beginnings of e better day. It works.
Take this morning, when I was turning out from a car park. I caught a guy crossing the road, not in a 'crash' sense; but my move surprised him, drawing a look that could only have been interpreted as, 'You silly bugger,' or something worse. I responded by waving and smiling in that sort of, 'I'm sorry, I didn't see you,' manner. He smiled in return and the world was returned to the equilibrium that I had started the day off with.
Is the smile the 'cure-all' that we we so desperately seek? NO---but it is a damned good beginning. Substitute it for the throw away insult; for the angry response that comes out of nowhere, or a physical reaction. A smile costs nothing, it hurts no one and it is contagious.
How many smiles would it take, not just in this so-called 'season of goodwill,' but every day, to help change one person's day? Does it not follow that if even only half of the recipients of a genuine smile passed that on, that the flow on effect would ripple through a community?
OK, you say, 'But what if I don't feel like smiling? I don't want to cover up when I feel bad or down.'
I am not suggesting that we all go about with this fixated foolish smile plastered on our collective faces----NO, but I am saying that it doesn't hurt to spread a little hope, because that is what a smile is--a reaching out to someone else, building a sense of being part of a community, no matter how big or small.
So, next time you come upon someone, try it---smile and see what happens. If it doesn't result in an immediate response, try again with the next person. Of course, walking down the main street of town or in a huge shopping mall may present a slightly different result, but use the smile when you can.
Merry Xmas, everyone, I say with a huge smile!
www.authorneilcoleman.com
Merry Xmas from Perdy.
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www.authorneilcoleman.com
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