It’s crowded in the doctor’s waiting room. No one looks very happy to be here. Maybe it’s that kind of doctor, one who solves difficult problems. Tells you what you don’t want to hear. No one looks as if they are in pain, like waiting in the Emergency Room. That’s a very different experience. Mostly older people today. No one is smiling. The staff seems to be taking extra efforts to be friendly. I jump on that boat.

This semester my classes are filled up with bodies that won’t smile. Maybe one or two will speak to me – if I’m lucky. Mostly they are bent over on the phone. I sing and dance too much. Introverts need the energy from the crowd. Zombies have very little to give. I have to organize activities in class to force interaction. Talking becomes a formal expectation. It usually works. There are just few holdouts. What I really need to do is to update my jokes! 

Walking across campus I have to pay attention as I pass to those who have something stuck in their ear. I try and say a kind word, look in the eye, ask a question. Have you learned enough today? Doesn’t work if my target is disconnected from reality and plugged in to a private feed. I might get a smile if I work real hard.

We are spending so much time online, especially the younger generation. We’re missing out on human interaction. No one is getting enough smiles in their day. Each one of us must figure out how to do our part in counteracting the negative effects of online/phone addiction. People all around you just need some human contact, a kind word and a smile. Especially all the strangers that cross your path.

“A smile remains the most inexpensive gift I can bestow on anyone and yet its powers can vanquish kingdoms.” ― Og Mandino

I myself need to make extra efforts at expression. Unconsciously plodding along, I’m concentrating, rehearsing or thinking about that bad news. It’s not difficult to awaken and smile. I just to think about what my face is doing. It’s true that your mood shows up in your physical expression. It’s also true that your physical expression (smiling) can influence your mood. The more I smile, the better I feel all day.

“Man only likes to count his troubles; he doesn’t calculate his happiness.” ― Fyodor Dostoevsky

These days I’m humming as I loiter about, like my grandfather used to do. (I stopped wearing shorts a long time ago because I looked down and saw his legs one day!) Humming a tune really works well when navigating through Buc-ee’s. Always a crowd of people who don’t seem to know where they are or where they’re going? If I hum loudly, people tend to veer out of the way. I try to smile back. as I make it to that big clean bathroom. Unless they’re wearing the t-shirt of the opposing team!

The truth is, I’m the one that needs to get the ball rolling. No one may ever smile at me again. When I smile first, almost always I get a return lobbed back over the net. Works every time. People these days might be hungry for a little warmth and friendliness. Don’t you think? I’m going to give it a try every chance I get.

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” ― Marcel Proust