THE SMILING GAME
It's been said that a smile is the lighting system of the face,
the cooling system of the head and the heating system of the
heart. But a smile is also a powerful weapon against toxic attitudes
of all kinds.
Lisa Gurnsey, of Portland, Oregon, wrote to me about a man whose
smile quite literally changed her life: "I was having a horrible
day -- hating my job, tired of the weather, tired of trying to
keep up on bills, and just completely stressed out. I stopped at
the post office in the morning and, as I was entering, an older
business man commented to me that it was going to be a good day
and life shouldn't be as bad as I make it look. I glared at him
and simply said, 'I wish it was Friday.'
"I felt better about my day when I left the post office...that
man's smile and comment, although irritating at first, made me
think.
"The second time I ran into the man I went out of my way to say
'Happy Friday' to him and to smile. I saw him a few more times
and always he was cheery and 'made my day.'
"I looked for him around Christmastime to give him a card and
explain how his kind words and smile that very first day made me
regroup my thinking and realize I didn't have it so bad. But I
have not seen him at the post office since then. I look every
morning...I go at different times to see if I can catch him.
Maybe he retired, maybe he is ill. I think to myself, 'I wish I
had thanked him for being a kind person.' I can honestly say this
man changed my life. I will work to spread that same feeling to
those I see in need of a smile."
Speaker Josh Hinds makes this suggestion: "Play the smiling game
in your daily life. See how many people you can get to smile back
at you. Keep score and tally the results at the end of each day."
That sounds like a game we can all play. The rules are
simple. There are lots of winners. And who knows...you may even
"make" someone's day -- even if that someone is you!
