SMILE!
SMILING IS CONTAGIOUS!
A SMILE
A smile costs nothing,
but gives much.
It enriches those who receive,
without making poorer those
who give.
It takes but a moment,
but the memory of it
sometimes lasts forever.
None is so rich or mighty
that he can get along without it,
and none is so poor
but that he can be made rich by it.
A smile creates happiness in the home,
fosters good will in business,
and is the countersign of friendship.
It brings rest to the weary,
cheer to the discouraged,
sunshine to the sad,
and it is nature's best antidote for trouble.
Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen,
for it is something
that is of no value to anyone
until it is given away.
Some people are too tired to give you a smile.
Give them one of yours,
as no one needs a smile so much
as he who has no more to give.
~~Author unknown~~
TODAY I SMILED
@-)--)(-----Today I smiled, and all at once
Things didn't look so bad.
@-)--)(-----Today I share with someone else,
A bit of hope I had.
@-)--)(-----Today I sang a little song
And felt my heart grow light,
And walked a happy little mile,
With not a cloud in sight.
@-)--)(-----Today I worked with what I had
And longed for nothing more,
And what had seemed like only weeds,
Were flowers at my door.
@-)--)(---- Today I loved a little more
And complained a little less,
And in the giving of myself,
I forgot my weariness.
~Author unknown~
THE PRICE OF A SMILE
VICKI, an unhappy rich woman, sits impatiently on a bus stop bench. MIKE, a
homeless man, sits down next to her with a big smile on his face.
VICKI: What are you smiling for?
MIKE: It's what I do.
VICKI: I won't ask.
MIKE: I sell smiles for a living.
VICKI: I'm not interested.
MIKE: Here, have a free one - on me.
(He smiles at her.)
VICKI: No thank you.
MIKE: Sorry, can't take it back. You'll have to give it to someone else.
VICKI: What?
MIKE: The smile. You'll have to give it away if you don't want it. Or sell it if you like-apparently it hasn't been used much.
VICKI: What do you mean by that?
MIKE: You don't smile very often, do you?
VICKI: So what if I don't?
MIKE: Shouldn't waste your smile...there's plenty of people who could use one.
VICKI: Well they can have mine.
MIKE: Your what?
VICKI: My smile.
MIKE: I don't see one.
VICKI: I thought you just gave me one.
MIKE: I tried, but it didn't stick. I think it bounced right off.
VICKI: Fine. What's there to smile about anyway?
MIKE: Well--
VICKI: You don't have to answer that.
MIKE: There's lots of things to smile about. It's a beautiful day outside; the buses are running on time--
VICKI: I don't want to hear about it.
MIKE: --and look at that flower over there, now that would make anybody smile--
VICKI: Would you leave me alone!
(a long moment of silence. Finally, she gives in.)
VICKI: So what's the going rate on smiles these days?
MIKE: Pardon me?
VICKI: Your smiles...how much are they?
MIKE: Oh, they're very expensive.
VICKI: So's my taste.
MIKE: You probably couldn't afford one.
VICKI: Try me.
MIKE: I'm warning...it'll cost you.
VICKI: Yes, I know, HOW MUCH?
MIKE: One smile.
VICKI: One smile?
MIKE: That's how much they cost.
VICKI: What?
MIKE: The price for a smile is exactly one smile. That's the going rate.
(She thinks about it)
VICKI: Alright. (smiles) I'll take one.
MIKE: It was a pleasure doing business with you.
(he leaves)
(Daisy, a streetwalker, sits down next to her.)
DAISY: What's with the smile?
VICKI: I sell smiles for a living.
This Story is to remind you to always smile and be cheerful!
It makes people happy!
Keep on smiling!
~Author unknown~
=) THE VALUE OF A SMILE =)
A =) is nature's best antidote for discouragement.
It brings rest to the weary,
sunshine to those who are =( ,
and hope to those who are hopeless and defeated.
A =) is so valuable that it can't be bought,
begged, borrowed, or taken away against your will.
You have to be willing to give a =) away
before it can do anyone else any good.
So if someone is too tired or grumpy to flash you a =)
let him have one of yours anyway.
Nobody needs a =) as much
as the person who has none to give.....
=)
your smile for today...
pass it on to someone...
who needs some sunshine on a cloudy day...
remember,
no matter how bad it seems at the time,
it shall pass in a few moments,
and.....
a =( is simply a =) upside down...
so, stand on your head and look in the mirror...
once you see how silly you look...
=( turns into =)
~~Author unknown
The Smile
Many Americans are familiar with The Little Prince, a wonderful book by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. This is a whimsical and fabulous book and works as a children's story as well as a thought-provoking adult fable. Far fewer are aware of Saint-Exupery's other writings, novels and short stories.
Saint-Exupery was a fighter pilot who fought against the Nazis and was killed in action. Before World War II, he fought in the Spanish Civil War against the fascists. He wrote a fascinating story based on that experience entitled The Smile (Le Sourire). It is this story which I'd like to share with you now. It isn't clear whether or not he meant this to be autobiographical or fiction. I choose to believe it to be the former.
He said that he was captured by the enemy and thrown into a jail
cell. He was sure that from the contemptuous looks and rough treatment he received from his jailers he would be executed the next day. From here, I'll tell the story as I remember it in my own words.
"I was sure that I was to be killed. I became terribly nervous and distraught. I fumbled in my pockets to see if there were any cigarettes which had escaped their search. I found one and because of my shaking hands, I could barely get it to my lips. But I had no matches, they had taken those.
"I looked through the bars at my jailer. He did not make eye contact with me. After all, one does not make eye contact with a thing, a corpse. I called out to him 'Have you got a light, por favor?' He looked at me, shrugged and came over to light my cigarette.
"As he came close and lit the match, his eyes inadvertently locked with mine. At that moment, I smiled. I don't know why I did that. Perhaps it was nervousness, perhaps it was because, when you get very close, one to another, it is very hard not to smile. In any case, I smiled. In that instant, it was as though a spark jumped across the gap between our two hearts, our two human souls. I know he didn't want to, but my smile leaped
through the bars and generated a smile on his lips, too. He lit my cigarette but stayed near, looking at me directly in the eyes and continuing to smile.
"I kept smiling at him, now aware of him as a person and not just a jailer. And his looking at me seemed to have a new dimension, too. 'Do you have kids?' he asked.
" 'Yes, here, here.' I took out my wallet and nervously fumbled for the pictures of my family. He, too, took out the pictures of his ninos and began to talk about his plans and hopes for them. My eyes filled with tears. I said that I feared that I'd never see my family again, never have the chance to see them grow up. Tears came to his eyes, too.
"Suddenly, without another word, he unlocked my cell and silently
led me out. Out of the jail, quietly and by back routes, out of the town. There, at the edge of town, he released me. And without another word, he turned back toward the town.
"My life was saved by a smile."
Yes, the smile - the unaffected, unplanned natural connection
between people. I tell this story in my work because I'd like people to consider that underneath all the layers we construct to protect ourselves, our dignity, our titles, our degrees, our status and our need to be seen in certain ways - underneath all that, remains the authentic, essential self. I'm not afraid to call it the soul. I really believe that if that part of you and that part of me could recognize each other, we wouldn't be
enemies. We couldn't have hate or envy or fear. I sadly conclude that all those other layers, which we so carefully construct through our lives, distance and insulate us from truly contacting others. Saint-Exupery's story speaks of that magic moment when two souls recognize each other.
I've had just a few moments like that. Falling in love is one
example. And looking at a baby. Why do we smile when we see a baby? Perhaps it's because we see someone without all the defensive layers, someone whose smile for us we know to be fully genuine and without guile. And that baby-soul inside us smiles wistfully in recognition.
Copyright 1992, 1993, 2001, Hanoch McCarty, all rights reserved.
Reprinted by permission of the author.
Dr. McCarty can be contacted at Hanoch McCarty
Hanoch & his wife
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