In a world where a lot of people spend their days on their phone or in front of their computer screens, the need for human connection is greater than it has ever been.

Not in any other period of history has there been such an epidemic of depression and loneliness as there is in the West today.

How smiling can affect us

Let’s start by looking at how smiling affects us. Did you know that actively putting a smile on your face, can alter the neural pathways in your brain and take you out of a state of being either invested with thoughts of the past or thinking about something which has yet to happen in the future, we call this Autopilot.

Making the decision to smile

In that single moment when you decided to smile you sent a signal to your brain that moved you out of Autopilot (where the mind wanders to all sorts of places, thoughts, judgments, criticisms!!) into the present moment, the only place where life (reality) happens.

Deciding to smile at someone else can make their day. Of course, it is not possible for us to know what someone has experienced in their morning, on the day, during the week, the month, or the past year.

How a smile can shift consciousness

Smiling can be a form of greeting, or it can be something that we do when we glance across at someone in the queue in front of us at the supermarket… the gesture of a smile, when given to someone else without expectation can be a gift and it can help to shift their state of consciousness when they connect to your smile…..as usually when we smile, assuming the other person saw it, they too respond with a smile….Everyone starts smiling 😊

A little story about a smile

In fact, I wrote this post on a Friday, and on the Saturday I had a chat with a close friend of mine who shared with me how she had gone to her son’s soccer game that morning and she noticed a mother who hadn’t attended before. So she smiled at her as a way to make her feel welcomed.

When they spoke to each other the woman, said to my friend that she had just told her husband that “That woman has the most beautiful smile, I feel there is some sort of connection with her”.

As it works out there was a connection, they had both worked as flight attendants and they both had had cancer. Fortunately, my friend has been in remission for quite a few years now, and it seems that she can be a support to the other woman as she has only recently been diagnosed.

So please remember to wear your smile, as a badge of honor, to yourself and to light the way for others.

Warning

Regularly practicing the art of smiling can lead to A LOT of LAUGHTER 😊😊😊😊

Love, Grace, and Gratitude
Donna x