Your smile

September 9, 2016

your-smile

Let’s talk about smiling. And your smile.

My mother was known for her broad smile and sunny disposition. Even if it did cover up a boatload of insecurity, sadness and problems, her smile really did make the whole day glad for many.

I didn’t inherit that bright and happy face. I’ve had to work at it. But the funny thing about is that simply smiling, showing the world a happy face, made me happy. It became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Pretty soon, I found myself with a new, upbeat personality, with positivity that has lasted decades now.

Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’ve had my dark times. Sad times. I was sad for almost two years after my mother died.  I was sad for a long time after my first divorce.

And I was deadly serious about my career.

But over time I’ve learned that approaching each day with a smile and a cheery attitude makes life so much more fun.

“Your smile,” a new acquaintance said the other day, “lights up the room.”

Smiling.  So easy. It’s such a little thing, isn’t it?  And it has a huge impact: on ourselves and on the world around us.

So just for today, let your smile light up the world. Let your smile make the whole day glad for many

And see what happens.

I suspect you’ll make the whole day glad for yourself, too.

21 comments on “Your smile
  1. Leanne says:

    It’s funny, I had someone tell me my smile lit up the room too…..I’m finally getting to the same point in life that you’ve been at for decades Carol 😀 (big smile!!)

  2. Peggy says:

    I love to smile. And smiling can light up a dark space or lighten up a stressful work meeting. One of my favorite meditations to practice is the meditation of the half smile. Gently raise the corners of your mouth, slightly…ever so slightly…close your eyes and take 3 deep belly breaths. There…I feel better already! xxoo

  3. I like to think of smiling as another way to let the light out. 🙂 It really IS extraordinary what a difference it can make – for oneself and others. May we always be met with smiles, and may we always leave them in our wake.

  4. Love this—-I try to start each day with a smile as well, even if Im not smiling on the inside.

  5. As Marianne Williamson says, “Who are we to hide our light?!?!” I go the extra mile and laugh probably more than most at things that some don’t find as amusing as I do. But I find that looking at things from the funny side sure makes a day easier. And who knew that smiling made someone else’s day easier?!?

  6. adela says:

    Researchers prove what you know. If you just wear the face of a happy person, you will, indeed feel happier. I’m turning the corners of my mouth up as I type, just to remind me.

  7. Linda Hobden says:

    I’m known to be smiley too – it makes the day a lot nicer when you smile at somebody and they smile back. I was drawn to my husband when I met him by his gorgeous smile & twinkly eyes.

  8. Tamara says:

    Funny you should post this today. Yesterday, I spent some time re-reading the cards and notes people left for us at Clara’s Celebration of Life. Almost every person who wrote something commented on her smile. How it was always present. How it made them feel. And when I see her in my mind, that’s the most prominent feature on her face. Her smile always makes me smile. Even through my tears. xo

  9. pia says:

    Funny,my smile was very natural when I was very young. Then I decided I hated my perfectly good teeth, and smiles didn’t come naturally to me.
    But I grew up and realized that a smile is worth a thousand words.
    People think you’re happy and make them happy. Funny. And have a great personality! All because of one smile!

  10. I love to laugh and smile. I’m more free with it the older I get.

  11. Nancy says:

    Smiling feels good!

  12. Lee Gaitan says:

    I am huge proponent of this practice. It’s my natural tendency, and you are so right in that the smile you give to the world seems to come back to you and lift you up as well.

  13. I learned that if I didn’t show the world a smile, then things I wanted to do would be much tougher. So, regardless of whether the day sucked or not, whether I needed to escape my home life, whatever it was- it had to be a winner for everyone else, so I could get my shot at the brass ring.
    And, I’ve been pretty lucky to have accumulated a lifetime of them. (Oh, and the scars on my back and my arms and my legs for the actions that had to be disregarded despite…)

  14. Laurie Stone says:

    I’ve never been a big smiler either. I’ve had to work to get those mouth muscles working. Maybe its a Yankee thing. I’ll definitely keep this in mind!

  15. Andi says:

    I’m working on that one 🙂

  16. Diane says:

    Always been a smiler. If for no other reason then: it makes people wonder what you’ve been up to!
    Mom told me it was the best (and cheapest) facelift.

  17. Helene Cohen Bludman says:

    I love to smile! It does make a difference, both to us and to people we come in contact with.

  18. A good word to take into the weekend, Carol. Thanks!

  19. We should make it our mission to “light people up” with our smile. From cashiers to garbage guys to executives, we have the power to encourage and disarm people with hardly any energy at all. Here’s to all that share their smiles.

  20. Frances D says:

    I couldn’t help but smile as I read your post. Back in my early thirties I worked one season as a tax preparer. We did a lot of walk-ins, and they had the option of choosing the preparer or having the manager select for them. A lot of walk-ins choose me. I was thrilled – the other preparers not so much. One afternoon a woman came in choose me and when she sat at my desk she said, “My cousin said choose Frances – you’ll know her right away – she’s the only one in that place that smiles when someone walks in!” Thanks for sharing. Wishing you many reasons to smile.

  21. Naomi says:

    LOVE this, Carol. I agree that a smile feels good for giver and receiver. It makes a huge difference.

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