Is your smile tank full or running on empty?
As a kid I never worried about my bank account, what was in the fridge or pantry or what tasks I had to do that day. It was all about fun. I bet I smiled all day. I have no proof of the smiles but my two sons are a font of endless smiles. With Louis, III I was often asked why he was so happy as if there was a mystery involved. Think about it, he was a kid and I was/am his Dad and Tsengel his Mom. That is a sweet gig if you can get it. Just having. Tsengel as your wife is enough to produce a plethora of smiles.
Now with Isaac he is just as happy and free with his smiles as his brother, if not more so. I see it on our walks to and from school, at church, when shopping and when we go out to eat. He smiles and says Hi and even the most crotchety old Mr Wilson-wannabe breaks down with a smile and hello in return. Now I could just think how nice and go on about my business but I like to think about things and how they work or maybe should work.
Isaac operates with no regards to ever running out of smiles. His account is full and he spends his day gladly doling out smiles to everyone he encounters. Most of the time he gets a smile, however small, back in return. He is not smiling to get something but he gets it nonetheless. He likes to give. What about you? Me? I think we tend to operate as if our smiles are part of our bank account and we can only spend them when required or want to do so. What a sad waste for all of us.
Going to and from Louis' school I am daily amazed and saddened by the lack of smiles I get in return. People are all busy moving about with too much on their mind. A Mom of one of Louis' friends who is Russian told me that in Russia only idiots and crazy people smile at strangers. So when I finally visit Russia, I will be quickly placed into one or both of those categories. Now you could say that it is very cold there and thus pleasantries must be abandoned so people can keep moving and not freeze to death. But a smile is one of the warmest things you can give or receive and it is almost free. You have to let down your guard for a second. See the other person as one deserving of a positive action and do it.
There is so much in our world to bring us down and make us sad, angry or despondent but from one person to another we have the option of spreading some warmth and joy or maybe some craziness if we can just smile at one another and make that split second of a connection that says so much without sometimes saying a word. Kids know it and certainly part of it is a learned trait. My boys are lucky to have both Southern and Mongolian genes inside. They are infused with hospitality but the smiling is more Southern than anything. I think Tseegii would agree. After all Mongolia is seriously cold temperature wise and they did have about eighty years of Russian no-smiling influence.
Isaac's smile tank is always full because he gets a greater percentage of his smiles returned than Peyton Manning completes passes. Be profligate with your smiles and trust me your heart, body and mind will thank you.
A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.
Proverbs 15:13
Now with Isaac he is just as happy and free with his smiles as his brother, if not more so. I see it on our walks to and from school, at church, when shopping and when we go out to eat. He smiles and says Hi and even the most crotchety old Mr Wilson-wannabe breaks down with a smile and hello in return. Now I could just think how nice and go on about my business but I like to think about things and how they work or maybe should work.
Isaac operates with no regards to ever running out of smiles. His account is full and he spends his day gladly doling out smiles to everyone he encounters. Most of the time he gets a smile, however small, back in return. He is not smiling to get something but he gets it nonetheless. He likes to give. What about you? Me? I think we tend to operate as if our smiles are part of our bank account and we can only spend them when required or want to do so. What a sad waste for all of us.
Going to and from Louis' school I am daily amazed and saddened by the lack of smiles I get in return. People are all busy moving about with too much on their mind. A Mom of one of Louis' friends who is Russian told me that in Russia only idiots and crazy people smile at strangers. So when I finally visit Russia, I will be quickly placed into one or both of those categories. Now you could say that it is very cold there and thus pleasantries must be abandoned so people can keep moving and not freeze to death. But a smile is one of the warmest things you can give or receive and it is almost free. You have to let down your guard for a second. See the other person as one deserving of a positive action and do it.
There is so much in our world to bring us down and make us sad, angry or despondent but from one person to another we have the option of spreading some warmth and joy or maybe some craziness if we can just smile at one another and make that split second of a connection that says so much without sometimes saying a word. Kids know it and certainly part of it is a learned trait. My boys are lucky to have both Southern and Mongolian genes inside. They are infused with hospitality but the smiling is more Southern than anything. I think Tseegii would agree. After all Mongolia is seriously cold temperature wise and they did have about eighty years of Russian no-smiling influence.
Isaac's smile tank is always full because he gets a greater percentage of his smiles returned than Peyton Manning completes passes. Be profligate with your smiles and trust me your heart, body and mind will thank you.
A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.
Proverbs 15:13
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