Smile
The other morning Isabel, my 6-year-old, and I were in the middle of our morning ritual of lying in bed chatting, giggling, and playing “where am I?”.
Suddenly, whilst still nestled deep in the sheets, she mumbles up to me,
“Mom, I’ve noticed something?”
“Hmmmm, ok, what have you noticed?”
She pops out from the depths of the blanket and states boldly,
“Well, every time I smile, you smile.”
Then of course, I do smile at this observation.
“Yes, just like that” she says and points at my mouth.
“You mean, you smile and then I automatically smile back?” I ask.
She smiles up at me, “Yes, just like that, you are smiling too!”
Of course, she is right. I can’t help myself. I don’t want to help myself.
We pass the smile back and forth for a minute and I realize that not only can I not help but reflect the smile back to her, but I also feel it deep inside.
She makes me happy. Her happiness infects me. Her happiness is my happiness, and I might go so far to say, vice versa.
I am in awe that she has noticed this small detail about our connection. It feels like a little thing, but it is not.
Smiling is infectious.
Even today, (and it is not just today I’d offer to say it happens a lot thank goodness), when we are walking back from the corner store, I with the dog, leash, and a basket full of groceries observe Isabel as she is dancing with an umbrella up ahead. She singing to herself, and this playful moment just makes me smile.
My mouth upturns, my forehead unfurls, and the shoulders move away from my ears.
I ask, “Can you be in a bad mood with a smile on your face?”
Thus, my challenge to you, to me, to all of us is,
Let us walk through the day smiling.
Or if you cannot afford a whole day, take five minutes, ten, a half hour. Try it on an elevator ride or during some quick errand you have to run.
If you accept this challenge, did you find that the people you pass smiled back at you?
Now, I am not naive enough to think that by simply smiling the whole world would suddenly be a happier place, but I do think that it is worth a try to bring a smile to someone. It’s a start right.
Maybe not for any other reason than it just feels good.
And there is nothing wrong with that, so smile, just smile.
~ I am smiling at you as I wrote this! ~
See did that make you smile?