Smile Please...

The song from the movie 'Life is Beautiful' starts playing in my mind as I read through this draft saved quite a long time ago. The song plays...

Smile, without a reason why,

Love, as if you were a child, 

Smile, no matter what they tell you,

Don't listen to a word they say

Coz Life is Beautiful that way.

Did a smile just flash on your face when you read the title? I find this similar to how we yawn automatically seeing someone yawn or read or think about it. I just yawned and most of you would also have. 

How will it be if all our photographs are without a smile or even the slightest trace of it? How will it be when the receptionist, or cashier or anyone for that matter greets you with an air of irritation instead of a smile? How will it be if people did not smile at all? Sounds weird for sure. A smile is an integral part of our lives and improves our mental and physical health. 

“Most smiles are started by another smile.” - this is very true. I always assumed that I need not smile till someone else smiled at me making them to be the first to smile. One crazy thought haunting my head when someone I knew did not smile was that probably the other person doesn't like me or recognize me. (I complicate situations like this!). 

A sudden thought said, when you assume the other person to smile at you as a mark of identity, wont he/she also be thinking in a similar way? I decided to put this to test and started smiling at all those whom I met and saw, no matter I knew them or not. You never need a reason for smiling. And hence, I discovered the secret behind 'smiling'! I got back all the smiles and my days have become more cheerful than it has ever been. Its just so pleasant and stimulating and keeps the day running smoothly making me forget any tension and live at the moment. My mom always tells me that it doesn't cost us anything to smile. 

Some quotes on 'smile' to ponder over....

• “If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it.” Andy Rooney
•  “The shortest distance between two people is a smile.” Author Unknown
• “Peace begins with a smile.” Mother Teresa
• “A smile is an inexpensive way to change your looks.” Charles Gordy
• “Smile – it increases your face value.” Author Unknown
• “You’re never fully dressed without a smile.” Martin Charnin
• “If you see a friend without a smile, give him one of yours.” Proverb
• "A smile is a curve that sets everything straight" -  Author Unknown

Anytime you don't feel like smiling, think that your photograph is being captured (say cheers!) and you will automatically smile, because later when you look at it, you will love seeing a smiling face rather than otherwise. So, 

Your smile might lighten up someone else's day. And a sticky note could come in handy.

-Yamini