How Easy Is It To Make Someone Smile?
I don’t remember exactly when I discovered how easy it is to make someone smile but I distinctly remember explaining it to my children when they were young.
It was a grey, miserable, winters’ day and the whole family had gone down to the beach for a walk. We were well wrapped up against the cold wind and there were quite a lot of other people out for a breath of fresh air, despite the cold.
Hannah, my daughter, was only around 4 or 5 years old at the time and was as inquisitive as you would expect a child of that age to be. We’d walked quite a long way along the beach and had turned back to make our way to the car to go home. Hannah had been off running around with Alex, my son, but she was now starting to get a little cold and tired and was walking alongside me, holding my hand.
As we were walking back, Hannah made some remark about how everyone we saw was looking very cold and rather miserable. A bit like the weather, really! Certainly, no-one was looking particularly happy. I suggested that it might be nice to do something to help cheer them up a bit. ‘But what can we do?’ she asked.
There was an elderly couple coming heading towards us and I told her to wait until they got quite close to us and then give them the biggest smile she could manage, just to see what happens.
As they got close, Hannah beamed. They could’t help but notice her and they beamed right back at her, then at me and my wife.
We returned their smiles and exchanged a brief greeting. After they had passed, Hannah turned to me excitedly and said, ‘Daddy, daddy. They smiled back!’
This became a great game. After that, Hannah smiled at everyone that came past on the way back to the car – and every one of them smiled back at her. No exceptions.
You see. As I told Hannah that day. Smiles are contagious and, when you smile at someone, they can’t help but respond – and as they do so, their spirits lift as well. They can’t help themselves. The gift of a smile is, perhaps, the simplest ‘Good Deed’ that we can do for someone.
Go on! Smile at someone today. I dare you.
Steve B
