Your Smile for the Day!

Several years ago, Mark and Joanna gave me a little sign that proudly states.."Smile..it confuses people!"  I love that little sign as it states a true fact with a bit of whimsy!  Most folks, if they see you smiling for no apparent reason, do believe either you are up to some mischief or are a bit wacky in the head (or both!).  That said, I try to do it often!  Actually, I have a lot to smile about..a wonderful family, comfy home, true friends, plenty to eat, devoted pets and my Bayou!  So I smile!  Smiling is good for our health and it promotes a good feeling to not only those receiving the gesture but also those giving it.  It has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that people who smile and laugh are healthier and live longer than those who go through life with a scowl upon their face.  So I smile!

"Smile and the world smiles with you!".."Wear a smile, one size fits all!".."Smile..sunshine is good for your teeth!"..all of these quotes should be used as bits of advice to each of us.When you think about it, the state of the world today might be a lot better if only folks would genuinely smile more.  It is hard to be rude, disrespectful and just downright mean if you are sporting a true-felt, happy smile.  As Mother Teresa once said, "Peace begins with a smile." I am so thinking this brilliant lady was on to something!  Down here in the Deep South, we all give smiles and a happy "Hello!" to everyone we meet.  If the courtesy is returned it is usually met with a full conversation filled with a lot of "Bless your heart".."You Sweet Thing!" and "My word!" exclamations but the friendliness is always there. The other day, I was out and about paying bills and picking up a few things at the local dollar store when I started noticing how contagious smiles are. It seems as if you smile at someone even if they have the most dour look on their face, they have to return the gesture.  I must say, though, that a person can definitely tell who was born and reared in the Deep South as others just don't "feel" the part!  Perhaps they are absorbed in deep thought or maybe society has some folks afraid to be friendly with one another.  Who knows?

I do think that the world would be a lot better off if only more folks would make the effort to be a bit friendlier.  (My sweet sister-in-law greets everyone, friend or stranger, with a broad grin and a hug.  Now just how much more Southern can you get!)  Maybe if the world made the effort to be a tad more "Southern" and expressed a bit more hospitality, peace could be attained.  Again...who knows?  So, in doing my part..here is your smile for the day!  If you can look at a bright, yellow sunflower and not feel a tad happier then, well, you just ain't trying hard enough!  Bless your heart! You just might need a hug, you Sweet Thing!  My word, cheer up and smile!