"Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing." ~Mother Teresa

Yesterday didn't start off the best for me.  I wasn't feeling well, and I hadn't slept much the previous two nights.  An early morning appointment filled my calendar, and I really didn't feel like going.  Reluctantly, I went anyway - with a frown on my face.  I stopped by Target to pick up a few things I needed on the way, and trudged to the checkout line feeling quite grouchy.  As I placed my items on the conveyor belt, the lady who checked me out looked me in the eyes, chirped a cheery "Good morning!". . .  and smiled at me.  I mean, she really smiled!  And guess what?  I smiled back!  And I immediately felt better!

I've been told that I sometimes tend to have a natural "frown" to my countenance.  My family teases me about the fact that I apparently frown when I am asleep.  I try to be conscious of this - at least when I'm awake - and make an effort to have more of a smile.  I've read that it takes seventeen muscles to smile and forty-three to frown, so apparently my face gets quite a workout when I sleep! 

We know that we smile when we're happy, but research has shown that the reverse is also true - smiling can help us feel happier.  In the late 1890's, Dr.  Fritz Strack and his colleagues at the University of Mannheim in Germany did an experiment where they divided volunteers into two groups.  Some were asked to hold a pencil between their teeth, and the rest were asked to hold it between their lips. Grab a pencil and try it!  You’ll find that one forces a smile and the other forces a frown. Participants were then asked to read a series of comics and rate the degree of humor.  The findings revealed that a forced smile can indeed boost humor, as patients who held the pencil between their teeth found the comics funnier than those who held it between their lips.

So as I focus on the little things this month to be more thankful for, today I am thankful for smiles.  The writer of Proverbs tells us that, "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones" (Prov. 17:22).  The genuine smile offered by the lady who checked me out at Target helped to improve my day.  I need to be more like her, as I make a conscious effort to share more smiles.  H. Jackson Brown, Jr. wrote, "Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day."  And by sharing a smile, that sunshine will be reflected back to help to warm my day as well.

One of my all-time favorite "smile-ers"--
This still makes me smile every time I see it!