Every week, I volunteer with a local group providing meals for the homeless in my neighbourhood. Until recently, I was one of the breakfast cooks. I’d become a dab hand at cooking savoury mince for brekky and had mastered fluffy scrambled eggs for 50 (made from real eggs!). A few weeks ago I was reassigned to front counter service, and I wondered why. ‘Your smiling face welcomes people’ was the reason.
WOW! My inner child, the little girl so self-conscious about her crooked teeth smile, was amazed.
And then one of my favourite sayings came to mind:
Be the reason someone smiles. Be the reason someone feels loved and believes in the goodness in people.
I share this because today, Friday 6 October, is World Smile Day. It’s not about emojis. It is about acts of kindness and helping others smile.
And it remembers commercial Harvey Ball who originally brought us that familiar yellow smiley face back in 1963.
His brief for a workplace wellbeing friendship campaign was to encourage employees to smile instead of bicker and moan. Have you noticed how powerful smiling can be with workmates, clients, family and strangers? A smile extends an invitation to connect, build trust and cooperate with another.
Today I’ve chosen to share a few favourite quotes relating to smiling. Perhaps you’ll share your favourite in the comment box below.
- ‘A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.’ – Phyllis Diller
- ‘The shortest distance between two people is a smile.’ – Victor Borge
- ‘Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.’ – Dr. Seuss
- A smile is a laugh that’s waiting to burst. Unknown (I saw it on a greeting card years ago)
- ‘Peace begins with a smile.’ – Mother Teresa
- ‘More smiling, less worrying. More compassion, less judgment. More blessed, less stressed. More love, less hate.’ – Roy T. Bennett
- ‘Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.’ –Thich Nhat Hanh
- ‘It takes a lot of energy to be negative. You have to work at it. But smiling is painless. I’d rather spend my energy smiling.’ – Eric Davis
- ‘Smile in the mirror. Do that every morning and you’ll start to see a big difference in your life.’ – Yoko Ono
- ‘You’ll find that life is still worthwhile, if you just smile.’ – Charlie Chaplin
I’ll leave you today as I began with this reminder —
Be the reason someone smiles today
Thank you for reading. Have a great day! Please do share your favourite quote about smiling in the comments box.
Founder of The Happydemic, Queenslander HeatherJoy Campbell blends laughter yoga practice with science of happiness techniques. As a laughter yoga teacher, she encourages others to spread wellbeing through laughter seriously. And it all begins with a smile.