Miles and miles of smiles😃😃

 

Big brown Rottweiler galloping in our direction, pounced on me, granting me not a moment’s notice. His young master looking slightly alarmed uttered; ‘ Sorry....he’s friendly’. ‘I didn’t think you were going to let him eat me’, I replied laughing, to which the young man replied smiling: ‘No, I would not’. 

That young man knew pain and struggle in his life, his humble beginnings not at all ideal. Thing is, his smile shone from his handsome face like a thousand suns, brightening up his whole demeanour. So much to be grateful to God for in that one incident alone- 1) His warm gentle smile, one that does not often see the light of day. 2) Somehow I kept my calm ensuring friendly Rottweiler didn’t panic. 3) Friendly Rottweiler’s object of affection was me and not my companion. Breda would have got a horrendous fright and on top of that would most likely have been extremely angry. The story may well have had a completely different darker conclusion.

‘A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger’. (Proverbs 15:1)

Got me thinking.....how priceless is ‘smiling’, even and maybe particularly in the face of adversity, whenever possible. A smile changes everything. I am reminded of a different day and a magnificent smile that melted my heart. A few years ago, in that same part of town as I was rushing to Holy Mass, a young man and I crossed paths ever so briefly and my life was profoundly blessed. We both smiled knowingly, like we were old friends, even though we had never met before that moment. Divine connection, a smile like I never witnessed in my whole life, too beautiful for words. I believe with all my heart Jesus smiled at me that morning, leaving His sublime imprint on my heart. In that mysterious encounter, God was present.  

Let us smile today at everybody we meet, let us be generous. A smile conveys a whole world of love, happiness and gratitude. Let us remember that the folk who will not smile back are more in need of our smiles than the cheerful ones. We have a never ending supply, unlike money and stuff, smiles go on for miles and miles, they never run dry. In the process we will cheer ourselves up too. 

What’s not to love.........

‘Cheerfulness strengthens the heart and makes us persevere in a good life. Therefore the servant of God ought always to be in good spirits’. (St. Philip Neri)

‘There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy’. (Robert Louis Stevenson)