Inner Peace Tool ~ One Smile At A Time

I smile. A lot. People ask me how I can "be so happy" or "smile at complete strangers" ....but they don't know the Peace I feel while doing it. I take the risk of looking like a complete idiot to some people, and looking like the only person in the world who's smiled at them. It has added to my Inner Peace every single day. There have been times I've left the house in such a funk, only to be turned completely around by giving out a smile at a gas station, supermarket or stoplight. Smiling is the Universal Language of Friendship and Peace.


"In ancient China, the Taoists taught that a constant inner smile, a smile to oneself, insured health, happiness and longevity. Why? Smiling to yourself is like basking in love: you become your own best friend. Living with an inner smile is to live in harmony with yourself."
~ Mantak Chia


I've been told that a smile makes people wonder what you're up to =) Some people may be skeptical, some may be confused...but the smile is always noticed. This world is full of people in a rush, some too busy to even breathe...I've seen vacationers on beautiful sunny California days trying so hard to "be" on vacation that they forget to smile!


"A smile costs nothing but gives much. It enriches those who receive without making poorer those who give. It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich or mighty that he cannot get along without it and none is so poor that he cannot be made rich by it. Yet a smile cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away. Some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of yours, as none needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give."
~ Author Unknown


It takes seventeen muscles to smile and forty-three to frown. It actually boosts your immune system! Why not save energy AND spread health & positivity at the same time? It also releases natural pain killers (endorphins) and serotonin. Smiling can make things seem easier...I find myself smiling during the difficult parts of my yoga classes. It's delightfully distracting =)

Sometimes the challenge is to not grimace when your smile is returned with a smirk, or a frown [see 2nd Agreement in earlier blog post]...but this is part of the path towards Inner Peace. There is discipline of the mind by smiling at them anyway. By not expecting anything in return, by selflessly giving away such a simple act, it reflects back to your Heart...resulting in Peace. It's the Gift you give both to others and to yourself!


"Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day."
~ From P.S. I Love You, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.