Your Smile Can Heal

I was walking in the mall, pondering a couple of discouraging encounters earlier in the day. A young boy suddenly was blocking my path, and I slowed to step around him. He greeted me with a warm smile and a wave of his hand. Naturally, I couldn't help but smile back —and suddenly I realized my mood had lifted! I also noticed that the youth was a youngster with Downs Syndrome.

To many people, that limitation in a person signifies that they are somehow diminished. But, he had healed me of my blue feelings with his smile. He had blessed me.

We all carry a smile! Too many are unused, or too rarely used. Smiles are instant inoculations of loving-kindness. Everyone needs them constantly. Each of us walks through life carrying this powerful medicine, and we have the opportunity to lift spirits and heal discouraged souls everywhere we go. Not only does it elevate the sagging spirits of others and makes their body healthier, the smilers themselves also receive an infusion of spiritual medicine that makes them healthier.

Believe your smile can heal another person.

Decide to give your smile to people you meet — clerks, mechanics, strangers.

Trust that they, and you yourself, will feel brightened by your kind act.

Install this new agenda for everyday living — every day — everywhere.

I discovered the truth of these statements that day in the mall. My somber mood was lifted by the warmth expressed by a young boy.