The Value Of A Laugh

We went for a short drive tonight and our boys, Danny and Brady, were settling in the very back seats of our van to begin a new DVD movie we had just purchased.  Danny says to Brady, "we need to laugh at least a couple of times every day, but today we have already laughed ten times."  It made Becky and I chuckle.  That started a conversation where we expressed our gratitude for happy children.
That brings me to my thought for today.  Different situations in our lives allow us opportunities to make a choice to be happy or to be sad. 
I like the approach that Danny took this evening, "we need to laugh at least a couple of times every day!"
I hope that each of us will choose to be happy even when given the opportunity where we could be justified in being sad.  Happiness is a great thing!  Choose today to wear a smile on your face and be the happy person you are destined to be.

Never Enough Smiles

I was with our boys and I watched as the many people walked past us with frowns on their faces.  I wondered to myself the cause of such looks. 
I can hear my mom's quiet words in my mind.  I'm forty years old and her advice seems more and more profound at the present time.
There are so many reasons to wear a smile on our faces.
I had a recent conversation with a man that I would consider a pessimist.  I made the comment that there is a lot to smile about and he rebutted with negativity.
I would suggest that a smile should be an automatic.  It sure helps turn most situations into a positive experience.
I love the words of a song that goes something like this:

"A smile is like the sunshine; It brightens up the day. It gives the eye a twinkle And chases frowns away." (Anna Johnson~LDS Children's Songbook)

Give the world a smile and show them that you are really happy.  Your actions will positively affect somebody else and brighten up their day.

Smile, It's Contagious

There is a well-known song in the LDS church that the children often sing, in Primary. When I was a boy, that was one of my favorite songs.

"If you chance to meet a frown, do not let it stay. Quickly turn it upside down and smile that frown away. No one likes a frowny face, change it for a smile. Make the world a better place by smiling all the while."

There is simplicity in the message of that song, but I believe, wholeheartedly, that if the people's of the world fully understood the solid principle, that this children's song teaches, it would make for a better place to live.
A simple smile is a very small means in bringing someone else a great amount of joy.
I ask myself, "Do you smile, so that people know that you are happy?" I think I can improve in this area.
A person walked by me, today, and their smile encompassed their whole face. When they smiled, it made their eyes smile, too. It was fun to recognize that and to instantly feel of their joy. That's how I want to be.

The world ought to know that no matter what I'm doing, I am happy. They will know that how I feel about my life is directly reflected from the smile that I display.

Remember the words to the primary song. It stands as a perfect reminder for me.

Life Is Great!

I recently observed something that, once again, solidifies my belief that life is very good.

In a local supermarket, I watched a man who was wheelchair bound.  He had no legs.  I wondered silently what the story was behind his legs.  I watched him closely.  He controlled the wheelchair with one arm and next to the wheelchair was the shopping cart.  He got around very well.  I noticed the strength in his arms.  He was an average size man but the smile on his face convinced me that life was pretty good for him.  I went about getting the things that I needed to get and thought nothing more about the man.  Iver the course of the time I spent shopping, the man had finished and gone out to his car.  When I came out of the store and got into my truck I noticed the man once again.  He loaded the groceries he had purchased in the back of a full-size van.  The van had double doors and he had both doors wide open.  I couldn't help but watch.  He got everything loaded into the van and shut the two doors.  He then wheeled his chair over to the passenger side of the van.  I watched him open the side door and a folded up lift engaged and lowered itself to ground level.  He wheeled himself up onto the lift and pressed a button that immediately began to lift him up to the floor of the van.  Without hesitation, I watched him pull himself from the chair and methodically fold his wheelchair and position it inside the van.  He shuffled himself to the driver's seat and then lifted himself up into the seat.  He reached toward the dashboard and obviously pressed another button.  The lift folded itself, this time into the van and then the side door automatically closed.

All of this in just a matter of minutes.  The whole time I watched this man do what he did with a smile of contentment on his face.  He accepted this routine as his life.

I am grateful for the example of this man.  I am grateful that people like him remind me that life is great!  I want to be the type of person that no matter what happens I can continue to smile. 

Go Back and Find it

My mom was a stickler about putting a smile on our faces.  Sometimes, teenagers aren't the best at doing that.  I had gotten up early and readied myself for the day.  When I was younger, mornings were the worst time of the whole day, as far as I was concerned.  I came down the hallway and into the kitchen area of our home.  "Good morning, son."  That was a normal greeting from my mom.  My return greeting must have been horrible.  She kindly invited me to go back to my room and find a smile.  I thought that was a strange request and I think I brushed her off.  "Go back to your room and put a smile on your face.  The world doesn't want to see you without a smile on your face."  She was dead serious.  I returned back down the hallway to my bedroom and closed the door.  I didn't feel like I was unhappy and I didn't completely understand why my mom felt so strongly about this.
I understand her way of thinking now.  There is so much good in our lives. 
I was in the grocery store two days ago and I passed a woman in one of the aisles.  As we passed each other I looked at her and she looked at me.  We were complete strangers but with a smile on her face she said hello.  Her smile meant a lot to me even though I didn't know who she was.  As I finished my shopping I paid close attention to the rest of the people that I passed.  There are very few people who smile. 
These days I am a 'morning person' because I get up early each morning to go to work.  Most of the people I work with do not like how the early morning makes them feel.  On Wednesday of this week, I decided that I would put a theory to the test.  My plan was to pleasantly say good morning to the people on my immediate team and see how they would respond to that.  Most of my teammates uttered a positive good morning in return but there were a couple of people who growled.  Many of you know the growl I'm talking about.  Some of you are probably some of the growlers.  I burst out laughing because I couldn't believe it.  I thought about my mom and I gained a greater understanding of why she said what she did. 
My mom had a lot of wisdom when she told me to find a smile.  I pass on to you what my mom said to me many years ago.  Evaluate your life and look at all of the reasons why a smile on your face is appropriate.  My life is very rich but the woman in the store, just two days ago, touched my heart because she smiled.  Let's try to be the same way!