“Dare to
Be Different—Smile!”
There was only one person in the grocery aisle that
day. I slowly progressed toward her with my cart, and our eyes met. As if I were
meeting an old dear friend, I smiled broadly. She returned the gesture. We stood
speechless in a timeless moment; then, unexplainably, but most naturally for old
acquaintances, we hugged. When we released each other, her face pinked, as if
she was embarrassed by her actions, and she quizzically asked, “Do I know you?”
I replied, “I don’t think so.”
"We went our separate ways
as if nothing had happened, but you would be wrong to conclude
that."
It happened in a flash, but when you
touch another’s heart, it lasts forever. I remember the first few lines of a
poem by Dennis Waitley: “Is there anything more to life than this, a baby’s
smile, a loved one’s kiss…”
"Whenever I see a bright-eyed
baby smile, I see the joyous innocence that brightens even the sun’s
rays."
When I see poor souls who have lost
their smiles, it compels me to give them one of mine. Would you do the same? A
smile isn’t worth much until you give it away. Seeds planted in the hearts of
strangers who are long out of sight become flowers passed on to another.
"Once upon a time, there was an isolated village inhabited
by two warlike clans."
They had fought bitterly for longer
than any of the living could remember. They argued over secular beliefs; they
argued over religious doctrines; they argued over histories none could remember.
They had become a sad and serious people who were joined together by only one
thing: in that arid landscape, there was little water except the one well they
shared in common.
One day, a traveling stranger happened upon the
village. He was suddenly confronted by the tribal elders, who demanded a reason
for his visit. Smiling broadly, he replied, “I’m a sower of seeds that become
happiness trees.”
“Happiness trees, you say?”
Objected one of the elders. “Look at
this sandy soil. Can’t you see how dry it is? What would you expect to grow in
this? Are you mad to come here? What kind of seeds do you have that can grow
without water?”
The stranger pulled a small pouch from his pack and
answered, “Certainly not without water will they grow.” Saying that, he threw
the seeds into the village well.
“How dare you!”
shouted one elder. “Perhaps he has
poisoned our water!” shouted another. “We must taste the water to make certain.”
They all agreed. “But who will drink first?” “Make the stranger drink first!”
shouted someone else.
“Here, let me show you,”
said the stranger as he lowered the
bucket into the stone well. He lifted it back up and scooped water into his open
palms, then drank, smiled broadly, and began to chuckle. Quickly, one after
another, the villagers began testing the water. Then a strange thing happened.
"The village chief began to smile for the first time
anyone could remember."
His smile broadened as he looked at
his lifelong tribal adversary, who couldn’t help returning the smile. By now, it
was contagious: everyone was smiling. They asked the stranger what the seeds
were made of. The stranger explained, “The seeds are made of forgetfulness. When
we forget about all the things that divide us, the whole world will smile!”
"It is said that nobody needs a smile as much as those who
have none left to give."
If you’ve ever visited a foreign
land where you didn’t know the language, you know that everyone knows the
language of a smile. There is a certain electricity that is instantly felt when
you smile.
"Do you want to test
that?"
The next time you’re introduced to
someone new, smile broadly and put your heart into your smile. Then, say
silently to yourself, “I really like you.” When you do that, you’ll discover
you’re not only smiling with your lips, but also with your eyes; they will emit
magical sparkles of light. Those sparkles are the seeds that grow happiness
trees, because in moments like these, differences are all forgotten.
"Remember, it takes just one little smile to make
someone’s day."
It’s like life handing you a
bouquet, and then all day long you give flowers to others. In fact, this is a
really heartwarming thing to do. Go to your florist and get a huge bouquet, and
give every one of those flowers away. Say to everyone you give a flower to, “I’m
so in love with life today, I want to give this flower away.” They may think you
odd, but that’s okay—dare to be different and smile.
"I
say dare to be different, because the world can be filled with sadness for many
people."
If you feel blue and make the
decision to wear a happy smile, the change can be magical. As studies will
suggest, it’s almost impossible to stay in a down mood when the corners of your
mouth turn up.
"I don’t think there are any of us who have
not felt the discouragement of broken dreams, lost love, illness, and those
tragedies and challenges so common to our lives."
Have you ever been in a public
meeting or business gathering where the tone was serious and somber, and then
you spied that special someone who lit up the room with their smile? Could that
special someone be you? Despite the gravity of the situations we may face,
wearing an up or down expression is always a choice. Happy faces heal. So, will
you dare to be different?
"In fact, I’m smiling this
very moment, at the fact that you’ll be smiling too—that is, if I’ve done my job
as the publisher of this uplifting book."
Have you ever noticed that when
people watch the world news on television, there’s usually nothing to smile
about? And think of this: The news is just about always made up of the same bad
events happening to someone else. Now, what if you and I could get them to
smile? Do you think those happy vibrations might just make someone’s life a
little better?
An unknown poet wrote, “Smiling is infectious, you
can catch it like the flu. Someone smiled at me today, and I started smiling
too.”
So, when Elan Sun Star asked us if we would consider publishing Smile,
what he was really asking was if we could get the whole world smiling too. If
you believe that the power of a smile can be transforming and that this book has
merit, would you do us and the rest of our human family a small favor? You
already know what I’m asking, don’t you? You can’t hide that smile—yep! Get
everyone a copy of Smile!
Someone wrote this
about a smile: “None are so rich that they can get along without it, and none so
poor that they cannot be richer for its benefits.”
So, again I say, dare to be
different and smile! Smile and you’ll enrich the lives of others. To enrich
another’s life is to enrich your own. Bringing joy to another’s heart is the
best way to bring peace to the world. What if you said to everyone you met, “I
know something very good about you!” and then gave them a big broad
smile?
"Every time you smile, you’re indeed planting
a seed in the soil of the human heart."
Please help us to gather a harvest
of human hearts and smiling faces. Together we can make the world a lot
brighter, if we but dare to be different and smile.
-
Peter
