I’m a smiley type of person. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s the joy I feel, deep inside. I hope you know what I mean? Someone once told me it was a gift. I also believe in eye contact. The power of eye contact with a passerby, accompanied by a smile never occurred to me until one day about fifteen years ago, as I walked through an office supply store. I crossed paths with a store clerk as I rounded the corner from one aisle to the next and simply smiled as our eyes met. Before I left, that clerk approached me with a somewhat mystified look on his face. He explained, tears brimming, that he was having a rough time, that it was a very rare thing to be met with a joyful smile and it had truly made his day. He said “never stop”, then thanked me for smiling! It was a simple gesture, that somehow had translated value. Since that day, I’ve made it a point to smile at folks.
In recent years, I’ve begun to recognize that my smiles aren’t always received with as much enthusiasm as that office supply store clerk. Today, we live our lives at a breakneck pace. It seems Christmas comes faster every year. When elementary school children are commenting on how quickly their school year flew by, you know something is out of kilter. Our FaceTime, device driven style of communication leaves us with very little actual face time and even less communion. It takes too much time to step outside of ourselves, connect and encourage our neighbor these days. Or does it really? It dawned on me recently, while running in to grab a few things at Publix, how our smile can be an on the fly gift in restoring that lost connection. The first person I saw in the parking lot gave me one of those solid eye contact, bright, lingering smiles. I smiled back. She smiled even bigger! I carried the spirit of that smile into the store and was amazed at how joy seemed to just leak out all over the place. It was contagious! As if we were all connecting and sharing some secret in the midst of our running-from-one-place-to-the-next afternoon. This phenomenon seems to be a trend around town lately.
I read somewhere that scientific studies have determined that smiling provides the same level of brain stimulation as 2,000 chocolate bars. Hate that I missed that trial! Like a picture, smiling is worth a thousand words but mostly it says, “Hi neighbor! You’re not alone here!” It reassures, conveys worth, and it’s convenient. Smiling frees the soul. They seemed to have discovered that in Walton County for sure. Wherever you are, as you pass your neighbor down the street or a stressed out mom in the checkout line, don’t wait! Be the first to share some chocolate via a warm smile, you just may make all the difference in the world – to someone.
Anonymous in South Walton
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