Have you ever wondered why the world becomes brighter when you smile? Or when you meet
\nsomeone whose smile lights up your life…for that fleeting second? What is it that changes when
\nwe smile? Is there ever a smile more joyous then when a baby first smiles? It doesn’t matter
\nwhether it’s rainy, foggy, snowing or whatever. They just smile because they must.<\/p>\n
My daughter, Darlene, had a gorgeous smile. Many a young man tumbled over backwards for
\nthat smile. Her eyes sparkled, her whole demeanor changed when she smiled. It told everyone
\nshe came in contact with that they were special. And that smile took her places we mortals only
\ndream about – her work as a Corporate Travel Consultant took her to beautiful cities all over the
\nworld. She smiled often, even through pain, and I’m told she had a beatific smile when she left
\nearth’s plane.<\/p>\n
I remember my step-mother often reminding me to smile. “Smile Joan,” she would scold. “You
\nare beautiful when you smile.” I really never felt I had much to smile about. And I certainly
\ndidn’t feel beautiful. However, I would say she taught me to smile. And, often when the going
\ngets tough, I hear her Still Small Voice saying -“Smile Joan, You are beautiful when you smile.”
\nWhat a legacy she left me! I’m not sure when I became aware a smile could change how I felt
\nabout myself. It’s just important that I allowed my instinct to prevail.<\/p>\n
Research has shown that smiling and laughing cause physiological changes in your body.
\n“When a person has a true, heartfelt smile, it does more than put her in touch with her own inner
\njoy,” says Doe Lang, PhD, a New York psychotherapist who specializes in nonverbal
\ncommunication. “There’s a reduction in cortisol, a chemical that indicates stress in the body,
\nand an increase in mood-elevating endorphins. On a social level, an honest smile defuses
\nhostility and draws people near you.”<\/p>\n
What about a ‘fake’ smile? I’ve learned if you put on a happy face, your body, either not
\nknowing the difference or hoping for the best, responds as if the expression is genuine. Smile
\nand you engage at least three major muscle groups. It increases blood flow to the face and helps
\ncreate a rosy glow. Laugh and it tones your facial muscles. Want to appear younger? Put a smile
\non your face and you will reap benefits no makeup can give you. Even a delicate smile moistens
\nyour eyes. It simulated the muscles around the tear glands, making your eyes brighter. They
\nactually sparkle. As you smile (the curve that sets thing right) you raise your cheeks rounding out
\nyour face and softening it. And, the increased blood flow nourishes your skin.<\/p>\n
How often have you faked a smile – when something was challenging you and anger or
\nfrustration was your first reaction – but you forced a smile anyway? Or, have you ever suppressed
\na smile, like maybe you really want to feel ‘yucky’ for just a while longer? We do these silly
\nthings to ourselves. “Nope, I’m not smiling today! I’m just going to be ugly and who cares
\nanyway!” Try smiling just for the heck of it. You will feel better, younger, more vibrant. Wow!!
\nMaybe that’s why I smile once in awhile – fake or otherwise. It makes me look and feel younger.
\nVanity? YES! Bonus? Definitely!!<\/p>\n
Jeepers, I’ll never fathom life and all it’s mysteries. But isn’t Life Great? ‘Til next time this is
\nJoan…A merry heart doeth good like a medicine (Proverbs 17:22).<\/p>\n
Joan Brooks makes her home in Wawa, Ontario. Comments are always welcome and can be made through email:
\njoanbrooks@shaw.ca, telephone 856-0652 or by writing to Box 682, Wawa, On P0S 1K0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Have you ever wondered why the world becomes brighter when you smile? Or when you meet someone whose smile lights up your life…for that fleeting second? What is it that changes when we smile? Is there ever a smile more joyous then when a baby first smiles? It doesn’t matter whether it’s rainy, foggy, snowing …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[1920],"class_list":["post-18447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community","tag-pathways"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-27 15:07:47","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18447"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18448,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18447\/revisions\/18448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}