QUOTATION OF THE WEEK
Smile at each other, smile at your wife, smile at your husband, smile at
your children, smile at each other—it doesn't matter who it is—and that
will help you to grow up in greater love for each other.
—Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997) Yogoslav-born missionary
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
A smile is such a simple thing—the use of a few small muscles to bring a little lift to the corners of the mouth. It costs nothing and is fully returnable. It brings light into darkness and lifts the spirits of the giver and the receiver. It heals!
Why don't we use it more? Why don't we see it more? We have no trouble finding frowns. Every day we see somber, sober looks. What are the messages they are giving? "Don't bother me." "I have my own problems." "Leave me alone." "Misery likes company." These are all very "me" thoughts and all very constrictive thoughts. But a smile: what an open feeling when it is given and received.
Tomorrow morning give a smile to the first five people you see. (Start with the one who is in the mirror.) Note what happens. How do you feel? You may be pleasantly surprised. Do this every day. Don't stop at five—do ten, or twenty, or more. Soon you will find you are smiling with your whole body. Things will not seem as weighty. You will become, as the wise yogi named Paramahansa Yogananda once said, "A smile millionaire."
Blessings and Love,
Allen Schmeltz
Copyright © 1999 Allen F. Schmeltz. All rights reserved.
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