Smile
Light Your Corner of the World
Introduction
A stranger said to me recently, “I just love your smile.” We were just ships passing in the current of a shared hallway, but my smile prompted a reaction. It got me thinking about the power of a smile. So, in this issue of The Adventure of Reflection, I will share with you some of my thoughts about smiling. I hope it makes you smile!
A Minute of Motivation
Smile!
Someone once said, “Smile- it increases your face value.”
A smile is a simple way to brighten every day for yourself and others. When someone smiles at you, it’s an almost automatic reaction to smile back. Smiling makes you feel better, so, by smiling, you will improve how you feel. Smile at someone else and you will have helped them feel better, too.
As seldom as some people smile, you would think it is costing them something every time they do. But smiling is free. Ah, but what if you don’t feel like smiling? Do it and you’ll feel like it. Research has shown smiling helps create the feeling of happiness.
A smile is also understood in any language. Be an international representative for good human relations – Smile! It feels good, and it’s free!
Note. Originally published in 1992.
Enjoy Life More
Today is a Good Day to Smile
There are many things I hated about the COVID pandemic, but one of the most heart-breaking for me was the masking of smiles. With my face half-covered I could only try to “smile with my eyes” at other people, and I couldn’t be certain if they knew I was smiling at them.
I also couldn’t see if someone was smiling at me. I get very sad when I think about how this felt. Not seeing the smiles of each other is so lonely!
For most of us that masking of our faces is behind us. We are now free to walk about with faces uncovered. But are we smiling at each other?
Today is a good day to smile. Remind yourself of that today, and tomorrow, and the day after that. Today is a good day to smile.
Today is a good day to smile!
Faith Corner
Jesus’ “face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.” Rev. 1:16.
Did Jesus smile while He walked on earth? I thought a search of multiple translations of the Bible, including a review of some Greek translations of key verses, would yield a definitive answer.
It didn’t.
I discovered there are very few references to smiling in the Bible. The King James Version doesn’t use the word smile AT ALL. Not once. It does use phrases where faces are described as shining.
A shining face sounds like joyous smiling to me. Someone smiling because the joy and love inside are radiating out through the face and eyes could be described as “face shining.”
The ancient Biblical blessing from Numbers 6:25 has been translated from “May the Lord’s face shine on you” to “May the Lord smile on you.” Having God smile on you seems like a very good thing, much better than Him giving you “the look” (you know the one you get from a parent when you are in so much trouble there were no words).
The shining face of God, in the form of Jesus, is only described twice in the Bible. The first time is the “transfiguration” where Jesus met with His heavenly father and some prophets on a mountain. The second time is in the book of Revelation, in a vision given to John, Jesus’ beloved disciple, several years after Jesus had died, resurrected, and returned to heaven. In John’s vision of Jesus, he described the Lord as having a face so radiant it was shining like the sun. But – was Jesus smiling?
Did Jesus smile? Is He smiling now? I don’t think those questions matter as much as this one:
Is Jesus smiling when He looks at you? Is His face shining on you?
I believe He wants very much for His face to shine on you with the look of a parent’s deep love for a child.
Dear Jesus, thank You for walking the earth on a journey headed to the suffering of the cross. I don’t know if, or when, You may have smiled while You were here among us, but I look to You now for the blessing of Your smile on me. Help me know, deep in my being, that I am greatly loved. Amen.
Poetry Pause
S.M.I.L.E.
Smiling
Mobilizes
Increased
Life
Energy
By Cindy MacGregor, August 9, 2022
Note. So, it turns out I have a bunch of depressing poetry. I wanted to write about smiling so I forced myself to compose this little poem. I hope you like it.
Old Mom to Young Mom
Cherish those Smiles
New parents are often asked, “Has your baby smiled yet?” When the answer is “yes” the parents’ faces light up with radiant joy.
Those first weeks with a newborn are exhausting. Then, just when it seems the sleep deprivation will become unbearable and infinite, a magical thing happens: baby smiles! And, with that energizing shift in the baby’s expressions, new energy is mobilized for the weary parents.
Then the love dance between parent and child intensifies! What a beautiful phenomenon when a parent and a child are loving, and talking, and smiling, and laughing with each other!
As the baby transforms into a toddler the “love dance” becomes difficult at times. The push for independence disrupts the dance; with a child who discovers, with glee, the ability to say “no” to the parent.
In the teen years, the “love dance” becomes even more complicated. The distance between the “dance partners” of parent and child increases, as it should. How do you keep it going?
Smiling is the key. Smile at your children, no matter their age or frustration-level. Notice the magic of their smiles, long after the baby years have passed.
Cherish those smiles. They are the magic of the love dance. And we do so badly need to love dance, no matter our age.
Dear Dr. Mac
I love trying to be wise. With degrees in psychology and leadership, I have a lot of advice to offer. some of it might even be good. If you would like to hear what I think about something, or want to share what you think about something, please send an email to: drcjmacgregor@outlook.com; I will respond via email or in this section of a future newsletter, or both. I hope to hear from you!