Smile

I wrote this particular article 5 years ago and it is still as relevant today as it was 5 years ago. However, I have noticed that people in California overall, tend to be friendlier than the east coast, which is where I lived when I wrote the following article. Maybe it's the fact that the sun is shining year round here, or that it's the west, where people have more freedom to be their wacky, crazy, expressive selves. I adore the east but it is cold in the winter and people are more conservative. Don't get me wrong, there are miserable souls in California too, but they at least smile occasionally because well...the sun is shining. I had an interesting day five years ago observing people in Connecticut that I was interacting with. Many couples do not seem happy, bickering with each other or eating meals in restaurants in complete silence. Overall though, a lot of people in general look pretty miserable. In the morning, I was greeted with a smile at Starbucks. The staff at this particular location are so friendly that you just want to stay and bask in their friendliness. They smile and remember your order. It is a great way to start the day! The rest of the day went downhill from there. At the elementary school, the secretary looks like she has a permanent scowl on her face and I often wonder if being unfriendly is listed as part of her job requirement. Off to my son's preschool where some of the teacher's appeared to love their jobs, but others looked less than enthused to be there. One preschool teacher actually said to a four year old, "I am the boss of you." Hmmm, which one is the four year old? At the bank, one teller had a smile, the rest look grumpy and angry to be there, probably secretly wishing they could just take the money and run. At lunch, several employees smiled and one semi-negative cashier grunted. I went for a hike that afternoon and not surprisingly, everyone on the trail smiled and said hello. See, hikes are good for the soul! Watching people drive, some were aggressive drivers, most looked grumpy, some just blatantly would not let other's into the lanes. I did have one nice driver at a four way stop wave me to go first. Back at the pool daycare and wow, the two ladies in charge of watching the kids looked absolutely miserable. No smiles or greetings from them at all and the kids said they were mean. I didn't leave my kids with them again! The lifeguard at the pool was just nasty to the kids. Back to Starbucks for a dose of friendly. Then off to a meeting with three other parent's to plan meetings for a large group of seven year old girls that I was the leader of. That was the cherry that topped off my ice cream sundae day of unfriendly, when they tried to veto music and freeze dancing at the meetings, stating it riles the girls up too much and it is not a serious activity. It is serious.....seriously fun for the girls which seems to be a problem. The girls just loved their five or so minutes of dancing, so I fought to keep the fun alive! I appreciate all of the friendly souls I crossed paths with that day and I hope that they noticed the smile I sent their way too. As for the miserable souls, I gave them a smile too, but they didn't seem to notice. Buddha said, "Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared." Mother Teresa said, "Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing." Dalai Lama said, "Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions." On that note, we all have a choice each and every day. Are we going to spread the joy or participate in the misery? What a simple action to say hello with a smile and choose happiness. If more of us choose the higher road, then hopefully, eventually, we can out number the one's who look unhappy. Yes...I am an eternal optimist! In the meantime, I will keep trying, one smile at a time.