Smile
What does a smile mean?
I remember reading a book that revealed whether how genuine a smile is. It said that a geniune smile is one that comes from the eyes and not from the lips. It was today that i realised how true that is.
I was on a bus today afternoon, was on my back to collect the car after half a day of servicing. Nothing was different about today till the bus came to its first stop. There was a man who boarded the bus and he was visibly very different from everyone else that was onboard. For a start, I would guess he's probably in his late 50s. What's so different about him is that he has many bumps..or rather..lumps..all over his body.
He came to sit down on the seat opposite of mine and the bus carried on on its journey. Nothing was different till I noticed the lady who was sitting directly behind the man get off her seat and shift to the back. It took me a moment to get out of the daze that I was in to realise what had happened. The woman was moving away from the man just because of the lumps that he had all over his body. I wondered to myself, "Had he noticed the woman's actions?" If he did, he might have felt hurt. Or maybe he was numbed to hurt because this might be the normal reaction that he received from people all around him.
It was then that it struck me. Maybe I could make a difference, even if its a slight one, for this man's bus ride. I turned to the left from the position at which i was sitting, faced him and gave him a smile, as big and as hearty as i could give, in hope that maybe it would cheer him up.
As you might find out if you take a step back and observe, in this modern bustling society where money is the order of the day and where everyone is rushing along with whatever they might be busy with, a given smile might not be received and returned just as readily as it should be. But it was today that showed me the exception. The returning smile that i received from the man was a smile that I am still unable to describe to its fullness. He smiled with his eyes. Somewhat so, I could feel warmth and a tinge of happiness radiating from his smile, from the smile that came from his eyes.
I feel that I've been touched by an angel. Touched enough to write this for all to read and have for thought. Give a smile a day, as big and hearty as you could ever give for every single day, and see what comes back from it.
No cost at all, but the returns are immeasurable.
What does a smile mean?
I remember reading a book that revealed whether how genuine a smile is. It said that a geniune smile is one that comes from the eyes and not from the lips. It was today that i realised how true that is.
I was on a bus today afternoon, was on my back to collect the car after half a day of servicing. Nothing was different about today till the bus came to its first stop. There was a man who boarded the bus and he was visibly very different from everyone else that was onboard. For a start, I would guess he's probably in his late 50s. What's so different about him is that he has many bumps..or rather..lumps..all over his body.
He came to sit down on the seat opposite of mine and the bus carried on on its journey. Nothing was different till I noticed the lady who was sitting directly behind the man get off her seat and shift to the back. It took me a moment to get out of the daze that I was in to realise what had happened. The woman was moving away from the man just because of the lumps that he had all over his body. I wondered to myself, "Had he noticed the woman's actions?" If he did, he might have felt hurt. Or maybe he was numbed to hurt because this might be the normal reaction that he received from people all around him.
It was then that it struck me. Maybe I could make a difference, even if its a slight one, for this man's bus ride. I turned to the left from the position at which i was sitting, faced him and gave him a smile, as big and as hearty as i could give, in hope that maybe it would cheer him up.
As you might find out if you take a step back and observe, in this modern bustling society where money is the order of the day and where everyone is rushing along with whatever they might be busy with, a given smile might not be received and returned just as readily as it should be. But it was today that showed me the exception. The returning smile that i received from the man was a smile that I am still unable to describe to its fullness. He smiled with his eyes. Somewhat so, I could feel warmth and a tinge of happiness radiating from his smile, from the smile that came from his eyes.
I feel that I've been touched by an angel. Touched enough to write this for all to read and have for thought. Give a smile a day, as big and hearty as you could ever give for every single day, and see what comes back from it.
No cost at all, but the returns are immeasurable.
posted by gareth at 2:15 AM
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