The Power of a Smile

There are many different ways that people assess value. I'm not here to say that everyone needs to value the same things. That would be most boring! However, there are somethings that we value, yet give very little thought to.

For example, if you went out today and a baby caught your eye and gave you a big smile, it might just make your day. Why? You didn't go out looking for a baby to smile at you. It's not like you can bottle up that smile. It was there and gone. How can it have lasting impact?

I think that part of the value, is that it can't be forced. It must be genuine.

Genuine emotions are in short supply these days. We have laws that say we must treat people thus and so. We live in an age where simply drawing a gun can get you kicked out of school...From the time a child can understand, they are taught what responses are approved of and which are not.

Now, I am not saying that kids should not be encouraged to be kind, but I wonder if we are actually teaching kindness? I mean, we are not allowed to bring light to our differences, but we are all different. How is it kind to refuse to acknowledge that?

Let me ask it like this: is simply refusing to allow someone to speak their mind, changing the things going on in that mind?

I find it interesting that no one would ever suggest that a baby not wanting to go to someone is because he/she cares about skin color. We are taught to care about skin color, often by the laws meant to fix those things.

I wonder how things would play out, if we quit managing how people respond to each situation and let people live their own lives again? What if people were allowed to use real emotions without the fear of how they might be interpreted?

Going back to that baby's smile; it was the fact that it wasn't forced that made it so special. How much more wonderful would it be to be treated nice because people were nice; or to get a job or not get a job based solely on merit?

Sure, we can make people act the way we desire, but is that truly what is desired? Personally, I would like to bypass the fake and just know where I stand with people.

All that being said, I encourage you to unleash the true power of the smile. A genuine smile can welcome, encourage, put at ease, display confidence, overcome language barriers...so many things are possible, but let it be real. Let's show the little ones that they are not the only ones who can be real!