Research smiling. It's on my to-do list this week. Surely there's research telling us exactly which endorphins smiling releases, what effect it has on the brain, and how smiling impacts others.
All I know is, smiling makes my life better. Others respond more positively to me when they see me smile. I automatically feel happier when I smile. OK, sometimes I feel a little ridiculous. What's that saying? If someone is smiling, they must be trying to sell something? I'm only trying to exist in a more positive state.
If it makes others feel better, that's important too. Smiling at the cash register, at my daughter an husband, at my co-workers, at concerned parents, and at frustrated children, all has the same effect. They calm down. Maybe their ammigdula (I need to find out how to spell that!) settles. They don't have to run because the smile they see reassures them that everything is OK.
I have to remind myself to smile. It's easy to forget, especially when I'm tired, to keep smiling. It's worth it. When others smile at me, I feel more free. Free to ask a question, free to stop and say "Hello", free to breathe. How is it that we can forget to do that, breathe? Maybe if I think of smiling as a life-sustaining activity, which it most assuredly is, it'll happen more automatically.
If I forget to smile one day, or one hour, or even one minute, I certainly will live to see the next moments of life. But smiling, I'm beginning to suspect links us to longer life. Another question that needs more research. In the mean time, I'm going to do my best to keep a positive attitude through smiling.
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