One of the classic tunes from the 1950’s is the song “Smile”. The melody was composed by silent screen icon Charlie Chaplin for his final silent picture Modern Times which was shot in 1936. However, in 1954 John Turner and Geoffery Parsons added lyrics to the song, and it became a popular hit when Nat King Cole recorded it. The words of the song say a lot about the power of a smile:
Smile though your heart is aching, smile even though it’s breaking. When there are clouds in the sky, you’ll get by if you smile, through your fear and sorrow, smile and there’ll be tomorrow.
You’ll see the sun come shining through, if you’ll…
Light up your face with gladness; hide every trace of sadness. Although a tear may be ever so near, that’s the time you must keep on trying, smile, what’s the use of crying?
You’ll find that life is still worthwhile, if you’ll just…
Light up your face with gladness; hide every trace of sadness. Although a tear may be ever so near, that’s the time you must keep on trying, smile what’s the use of crying?
You’ll find that life is still worthwhile, if you’ll just…
SMILE.
Wow! Those lyrics say it all about the infinite power that your own simple smile has to positively influence how you feel.
But a smile has more than just power over the person who smiles; it also has infinite power over those who receive smiles from others. Here’s a case in point:
This past Monday, I had a dentist appointment. I was told that I needed a root canal. It is scheduled for next week. After the appointment I drove home for lunch, a bit depressed. My grandson, Grayson, was visiting. He and his grandmother were on the front porch swing. The moment I stepped onto the porch, Grayson saw me and immediately flashed this remarkably big smile. It was so powerful that it literally stopped me in my tracks. I no longer gave any thought to root canals or anything else. I was mesmerized by his smile. It should not be difficult to guess how I reacted. I immediately smiled back. For the rest of the day, that moment on the porch influenced my day in a positive way. That’s the infinite power contained within a smile. It’s thermo-nuclear!
I recognize that my grandson’s smile may be significantly more powerful and influential for me than if I had received it from other less important people in my life, but nonetheless, a smile exchanged between any two individuals is still one of the strongest tools that God has given us to spread His peace and goodwill.
A smile costs nothing, but gives much. It enriches those who receive it, without making poorer those who give it. 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 goodwill 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 a smile 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 may be too tired to give you a smile; give them one of yours, as none needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give.
Have an AWE-full weekend and Labor Day Holiday filled with smiles given and received!
Bill Bacque