Today I was on the bus and noticed a young girl staring at me.
Now I have this theory that the world would be a MUCH better place if we would all just SMILE at each other more. As our Sages exhorted us: הוי מקבל כל אדם בסבר פנים יפות. EVERY PERSON must be greeted with a pleasant smiling countenance. I often wish that people who were machmir in so many areas would take SMILING upon themselves as a chumra. "I am machmir - I smile at every person I see". WHATTA WORLD!!! Now there are people who are very smiley but that is often more a matter of natural disposition than religious practice. But it shouldn't be that way. Just like we follow so many other things Chazal say regardless of whether we are naturally inclined [who is naturally inclined to fast TWICE in the middle of the hot summer?] - smiling should similarly be done regardless of our natural inclinations. 😊😊
Back to the little girl. I smiled at her [I try to be a frum guy after all....]. Then I realized that my mask was covering my face!!! 😕
If masks prevent us from smiling at each other - are they worth the price?? [I hear some saying "YES"].
Be that as it may - my message for this post is ..... SMILE!!!!!
“It costs nothing, but creates much. It enriches those who receive, without impoverishing those who give. It happens in a flash and the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None are so rich they can get along without it, and none so poor but are richer for its benefits.
“It creates happiness in the home, fosters goodwill in a business, and is the countersign of friends. It is rest to the weary, daylight to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and nature’s best antidote for trouble.
“Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed or stolen, for it is something that is no earthly good to anyone 'til it is given away. And if in the hurly-burly bustle of today's business world, some of the people you meet should be too tired to give you a smile, may we ask you to leave one of yours?
“For nobody needs a smile so much as those who have none left to give.”
😀😁😂😊😉
