It's Friday, Time for a Smile

'I found a smile today. Every time I tried to give it away, someone would give it back to me!'--Unknown

I was on my way to work this morning and was feeling downright miserable and cranky.  The air outdoors is so thick that you could almost cut through it with a knife.  Coupled with the early morning heat, my clothes were sticking to me, and by the time I got on the train,  you would have thought I had washed my hair and left the house with a wet head.   And somehow, at least with me, that is, I find the contrast between the heat and humidity outdoors and the cool AC temperature in the train, makes me sweat even more, so as I sat and tried to read my Kindle, it was if my sweat glands opened up, and the water was running down my face...a totally yukky feeling.

Needless to say, by the time I arrived in the city, I was feeling downright ornery.  Everything and everyone around me was bothering me.  I stopped in my usual store for my iced coffee, and when I found it crowded, I felt my adrenaline rising.  I was stressed and downright angry that nothing seemed to be going my way.  To top it off, I was patiently waiting my turn in line when a man cut in front of me.  To be honest, I was angrier with the clerk who knew I was standing there, yet  still rang up the man first.  My blood was boiling now, and I was really to let the clerk have it... 

...but what would that accomplish anyway.  Since my regular store closed about a month ago, this is the only store on my way to work that I can stop and get my coffee.  If I go off on them, it's going to make for a  rather unpleasant relationship, and is it really worth it?  The point is, things like this happen in life, and it is up to us how we deal with them.  Do we get ourselves into a huff that is literally going to spoil our day, or do we go with the flow?  It was then, as I was standing in line, that I began to think of the above quote that I found in one of the messages in a Yahoo group that I follow.  So, I put a smile on my face and stepped up to the counter, and when the clerk saw me, he smiled back and said he was sorry.  And the whole thing blew over.  And I kept that smile on my face as I walked to work, and as if a miracle, my mood had totally changed from 'ugly' to 'beautiful'.

A smile costs nothing but gives so much.  A warm smile can simply make a person's day. It's a sad fact  that many people get lots of negative input every day and a smile can warm that person soul.  Gosh, I know how good I feel when I am feeling down and someone smiles at me.   An unexpected telephone call, a warm word, a genuine smile, a listening ear, have the power to affect another person's life far more than we realize.  It only takes a moment, but the memory that smile sometimes lasts forever. 
And for yourself,  the healing, rejuvenating power of a smile can do wonders to reduce stress and heal the body.

Wishing you all joyous weekend filled with love, peace, and happiness.