I think that smiling has been a frequent topic of my posts over the past four plus years.  The reason must have to do with the fact that I find myself smiling a lot. It’s a good thing too, because it impacts my life significantly in a positive way.  Babies, people walking their dogs, kids playing in a park are just a fraction of the things I find myself smiling at. Whenever I am driving, even if the traffic is mean-spirited, if one can catch another person in a smile in the midst of things, it can help prevent being drawn into the negativity.  Smiles versus frowns are one thing. But anger is a tougher nut to crack. A smile from another person can help to counteract the tension one feels in that kind of traffic.

Sometimes I force myself to smile, because it has a positive effect even if a person doesn’t mean it at first.  After doing it for a few seconds it can even cause me to laugh at myself. A smile is only a step or two from a full-throated laugh, if you are open to such things.

Occasionally, smiling can cause another person to react angrily if they are just irritated enough about something to think you may be laughing at them.  I never am. But this has only happened rarely with me and it isn’t going to stop me from doing my thing. Most of the time though, smiling causes another person to smile back, because quite frankly, smiles are contagious.  

One thing I have learned is that good intentions are felt by others.  And if a facial expression can show those intentions, it is worth doing.  Little things often have big impacts. Kindness is a radical act. Smiling can be one way of showing it.  If you are not prone to such an action, you may consider giving it a try. You never know. You just might like it.