Thai's Have it Right: The Hidden Power of Smiling

…That a smile goes a long way. Oh, and now they find in studies that happiness is contagious… even among strangers. here If you don't get even a small smile looking at this photo than you are helpless. Finding that when I am too helpful or nice, especially at my gym they think I am looking for a date. I do already have someone special in my life, and I guess the band on my finger doesn’t mean anything anymore. I have since dropped any worries, and just laugh in the gym or yoga. Wearing my t-shirts that say: Some pursue happiness, others create it.(click on t-shirt in right column). A yoga friend commented recently, "It is so good to hear you laugh in yoga, just when I find myself struggling with a pose.
Now, a few folks have asked me how do I do it, regarding my partner? If you have trust and love firmly established, then doubts fall away. I am hoping that I am too smart to worry, knowing that will never make me happy. And who needs to invent more problems? I surely don’t, even though I know even more difficult times ...will come. It is the nature of life, you are given as much as think you can handle. Then more show up just about the time you think you have it all figured out, just to kill your high. It is not pessimism, but it is my time honored realist approach after my near death experience. So you better to learn to laugh at yourself when you look in the mirror in the morning or when you suddenly find you’re frustrated over simple tasks when driving or waiting in line. I am trying, because studies say that grumpy people have fewer friends. I know I need as much help as I can get. Let's make this the land of smiles!

The Ripple Effect

I'm trying to set an intention to smile a lot more, even when it is painful, or even when I carry some irritation. We all can find something that bugs us, and even when we don’t ….we make some up! It is alarming to see a smiling man, and this morning I was gesturing for another car to go ahead, applying patience and a man waiting for a bus waved back at me. He saw a smile, and me waving…so he waved back, as the car was directly behind him. That made me smile more instead of getting annoyed that my intended target wasn’t him.



Which brings me the idea of intention. How if we proceed in the world with good intentions, there are ripple effects, like people who ignored you… before smile and ask how you are. But getting caught up with expectations in every moment, will also bring suffering when your good intentions are wrought with selfishness. Oftentimes you can smile and great strangers with an open heart, and not see the effects it has in their life. Someone unseen could reap the good fortune. Give it a think. That unknown someone could be nice to your friend, who when inspired by the stranger, might show up at your house with dinner. You benefit from someone else inspired by your ripple. I know from my meditations, which I have said before, help to download my worries and fears daily, thus freeing me up to be spontaneously happy and great the world with a smile more than before. A word of caution if you are smiling to piss off that angry person you encounter everyday(especially while driving), you are not doing it with pure intention. Tonight, while driving to temple a truck behind me had his brights on, and although I really wanted to get out my car at a light and tell him, I had to remind myself, that he just wanted to be happy. I just pointed my mirrors skyward and patiently continued until he left on a turn. It was inconvenient, but was hardly life threatening and my goal is too relax about things you can’t control. So, in this instance by not getting angry, and confronting the person, I, in effect, stopped a potential ripple of anger.