It Really Does Matter

Hello, dear readers. I wanted to write a quick blurb about something that is so important but we really don’t think about it. Maybe because it’s too commonplace or because as humans, most of us tend to live on the negative side. True there are some who are natural-born sunshine-y flowers that look at everything from a positive angle, and when you meet them you’re always impressed and just a little mystified. Maybe it’s dunned out of us as we grow and deal with life, the expectancies of others, and the realization of our own shortcomings; maybe it’s genetic, or even the luck of the draw.

Personality dynamics aside, I’m talking about the power of a genuinely happy smile. The internet is plastered with smile memes and most of us roll our eyes and go on. But think about it. How many times has a smile from a complete stranger lifted your mood? Go on. I’ll give you a minute.

While you’re ruminating, I’ll tell you about a smile memory. I was driving to work. A miserable place for me. The job was such a bad fit, but I needed the money and the experience, so I inflicted myself and everyone else with my presence day after day. I was, to quote Pink Floyd, deep in “quiet desperation”, in my car, waiting at a red light, wanting to be anywhere else. A young man came into view as he walked across the street, directly in front of the car. Out of nowhere, he looked up at me and flashed the most dazzling, 1000-watt smile a stranger can convey. I know he wasn’t pleased to see me but something good must have happened in his life, and I felt it. It brightened my whole day. This happened 22 – 23 years ago; that’s how powerful that smile was and that’s how much I must have needed it.

Now we’re back. Do you have a specific memory, or is it a vague inclination? You may not remember the exact time of day, what you were thinking at the time, or even what the person who gave you that smile looked like, but it’s there. Maybe it didn’t send your spirit soaring, but it definitely gave you a nudge that you needed. All because of a simple smile.

So next time you’re feeling happy and in a public space, share it! Throw that happiness at someone else with a smile. You never know.