Life as I See it: Life seems better with a smile
Five minutes of sunshine is what I saw. Sitting at my desk, the sudden blaze of light flooded my room and I sat staring at its brilliance, like a starving person gazes at food. In the hazy, windy gloom of our North Idaho winter I smiled and the act of smiling flooded my soul with happiness.
It can be a strange thing how, when one smiles, one can’t remember not smiling. I recently had a conversation with a co-worker who had suffered with bronchitis all winter and she looked pasty white. A couple of week’s ago, thanks to strong antibiotics, she stood at my desk with some color in her checks, smiling. I made the comment that she looked like she was feeling better and she replied. “Yes I am! And the really weird thing is that now that I am feeling better I can’t remember being sick, and yet I know I was really sick, especially for the past two weeks.”
Aren’t human beings interesting? When we are well, we can’t remember being sick. That is an amazing human trait. If we didn’t have it, women would never have a second baby. Yet, on the other hand, when we’re sick it’s hard to remember feeling good. But when we don’t feel well, somehow we press forward.
Personally I’d like to thank the schoolteacher who created Airborne. She got sick and tired of getting sick from all the illnesses her little students shared with her and she came up with a terrific idea. How great it is to have something that might stop a virus from devastating our families, our office co-workers and us. Now that’s something to smile about. Being sick can keep us from remembering to smile at one another or from remembering how great smiling can make us feel.
Yesterday a Fed Ex deliveryman made three deliveries to my desk and I smiled each time. And better yet, the smile was returned each time. FedEx has a worldwide network of personnel who pick up and deliver letters and packages on a time schedule I can count on. I can access their many kinds of services on their Web site. That was especially great during the holiday season. The delivery schedules seem to be a bit tight but the delivery person still smiled at me every time he came to my desk. I liked that.
Smiling is contagious. I can’t count the number of times I have been walking somewhere and have passed a person with a deep frown on their face. I usually meet people with a smile, and when they look up and see my smile their frown turns to a smile. It’s nice to know you have improved someone’s life, even if only for a moment.
I’ve heard it said that the reason giving is more highly valued than receiving is that we receive only once but the gift of giving lives with us forever. In other words we have reasons for smiling that live inside our memories and that’s a cool thing. A really cool thing.
There just isn’t anyone more delightful to be around than a kind-hearted, generous-spirited person. Many business owners recognize this principle and use it to help build their business. The new Cheesecake Cafe on Highway 95 and Canfield seems to have figured this out. They came by the office the other day with a tin of cookies and their newest half-hour lunch menu. The cookies were delicious and now I know a place that I can fit into my half-hour lunch schedule.
Another thing that brings a smile to me is the New Year. Holiday celebrations have been going on for weeks. Fireworks and football games have blown through our lives and now the children are finally back in school. They are back to the Three Rs – reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic, plus music lessons, drama lessons and sports. A new “American Idol” season has begun. Pontiac is debuting three new sexy-looking cars. The New Year is here and even though there are still storms to be weathered and snow to be shoveled, the sun continues to shine now and then, giving us a reason to smile.
But all isn’t sweet cookies, twinkling lights and smiles this season. The recent winds have left many of us without electricity and heat. The roofs of buildings have been blown off. Trees have been blown over, some landing on homes or cars. Driving around town I have seen many signal lights flashing because they still needed to be reset after the power had gone out.
What I am impressed about is how responsible, thoughtful and generous people treat one another, despite the difficulty and hardship caused by the weather. People driving up to an intersection with no lights operating, or all lights blinking red, cautiously approach and wait their turn patiently, knowing that it is merely a temporary inconvenience. I’ve heard of areas where the power was out for a week or more and the people without electricity and heat have been invited into homes where they were sheltered, feed and kept warm.
Life in North Idaho has its challenges, but the warm-hearted people who live here continue to bring smiles to my heart.