Smile and Happiness

By Christina Kim - July 27, 2015

The little girl asked me, "Why are you always happy? You're always smiling!"

I smiled at her, and said, "Why would I not want to be always happy? Why would you not want to smile?"

She nodded and smiled at me in return.

It is an interesting statement, really, from a young girl still learning her ways of life to make of an adult twice her age. She must have had days when she cried because she could not have her ice cream when she wanted or her parents refused to buy her that doll in the display window.
She is not always happy, and she has had her own miserable moments where she simply could not find a reason to smile while wiping away the tears at her eyes.
She is bewildered as to how anyone could be happy all the time, or at least almost every time she saw me, and I always seemed to smile.
To her, it is just not possible.

She is not wrong.

We are all human beings and going through cycles of emotions is just part and parcel of life. No one is ever always happy or always sad.
We all have our moments.
I am not spared too from being in the dumps or feeling that the world is coming to an end.

Happiness is a choice; we always say, but choosing to be happy and understanding the meaning of happiness are not necessarily the same thing.
Yes, we can always choose to be happy, but there are those moments when you just simply cannot choose to express that happiness.
You can’t possibly stand right there in the middle of a funeral of greatly loved man and tell the crowd that “Let’s choose to be happy for the death of this great man
Literally speaking, it is an optimistic approach, but the sense of compassion should also be considered in the wake (pun intended) of one’s passing and its effects on the loved ones.
Words of consolation are probably a safer choice though with an insertion of positive vibes to encourage the dependants to move on with their lives.

It is easy to understand the way we all associate smile and laughter with that expression of happiness. It is after all, what we were taught since we were young.
It is the core fundamental; furthermore, the upward direction in which the face is contorted to in that action of smiling and laughter speaks of positive enthusiasm.
The twinkle in the eye is a sure telltale sign when one lights up with a smile.

How is a child to know that even a smile could be just masking sorrow, and is a form of hiding the misery?

It is not right; and it should not even be that way for that is not the way the mechanism works.

A smile should be a smile, as simple as that and it is only us adults complicating the matter.

I smile all the time not because I am always happy.
I am not immune to the vicious realities of life either, however optimistic I am.
I do have days when I am down in the dumps as well and just drowned in the blues.
That does not mean I cannot smile still.

There is a difference between happiness and smile, though they are closely related.

Happiness is an emotion and it can be a state of mind.
It can be a choice.

Smiling is a verb, a form of expressing the emotion of happiness through that slight upward curve of the mouth.
It is something which is visible to the whole world.

To smile is to tell the world that you are happy.
To smile is to choose to do so in spite of all that could be making you cry.
To smile is to not cry or frown.
To smile is not about pretending that the world troubles do not exist, it is to show that I am ready to take it on and I will not let it drag me down.

Smiling is an action and it can be seen.

Happiness is something only the person experiencing it could tell.
Happiness is buried within one’s soul.
Happiness can be faked through an artificial smile on the face to tell the world you are happy when you are not.
Happiness is a state of mind where you can choose to have or dwell in that misery plaguing you after a series of unfortunate events.
Happiness can be articulated artificially to fool the world through a  make-up smile, but you can never fool that one person which is yourself.

Happiness is a choice; a state one can choose to fake yet people cannot tell.

Now, the question is, is your smile reflective of your true emotions or are you faking it?

Many have adopted that pattern of faking that smile to portray happiness, on pretense.
It is their way of saying that they do not want to burden the world with their unhappiness and they want to tell the world they are okay.
We are all guilty of it.
We think people cannot tell.

Well, guess what, we definitely can tell when a smile is genuine or not because simply, happiness is from within the soul and true happiness could emanate through an inexplicable glow on one’s face.

Perhaps it is time to stop pretending and take a look at a mirror.

It is also easier to just refer back to the world’s greatest teacher; the child who is just always simple.

Smile when you are happy.
Cry when you are unhappy.

It is just that simple.
There is no special formula derived from rocket science knowledge.

Me?
I smile when I am happy.
Always.

You?
Make that choice and if you want to smile, make it a good smile.
Don’t force yourself to smile.
You can choose to be happy, and when you are really happy, that smile will really show.

That little girl is right about me, because she could feel that happiness in my smile and that is exactly what I want to show the world.
Keep smiling and never forget how to smile.
If you ever forget, just look at the mirror or ask a child.

You will find happiness in simple things; don’t complicate it.

So are we smiling today?

You will never know who is falling in love with that smile on your face, and how a simple smile could just make a difference :-)


A Smile for you :-)


IMG_4567_Fotor




LIKE my Facebook Page
Follow Me on Twitter @Angelstar
Follow my Google+
Stalk me on Instagram @AngelstarChristy


  • Share:

You Might Also Like

0 comments