The Power of a Smile

It’s Christmas time ! This means shopping, food, visiting, greeting cards, decorating, music…and my favorite, Christmas movies. I happen to be a sucker for all holiday films. It’s very close to impossible to name my favorite. I have wonderful memories associated with each one….from the original “Miracle on 34th Street” (still a great film) to the “Grinch” to “The Santa Clause”. I adore the original “Charlie Brown’s Christmas”, and can’t imagine the weeks leading up to Christmas without the jazz strains of that soundtrack playing.

But, in the most recent (and by this, I date myself) batch of Christmas movies, I have to say that Will Ferrell’s “Elf” is a new classic. I adore his character of Buddy the Elf. Buddy approaches life with a great honesty, a loving innocence and a sense of deep caring for others…not to mention a spirit of Christmas as big as New York, and passion for maple syrup on everything and anything. Buddy tries to build a relationship with his jaded father, played by James Caan, while still maintaining his true Elf identity and zest for life. There are far too many wonderful, goofy lines in the movie to quote them all, but one of my favorites is, “I like smiling ! Smiling’s the best !”

The wonderful thought behind this line is the truth of it: smiling IS the best ! Did you know that smiling can help improve your overall well being ? Study after study has shown that smiling, even when you don’t feel like it, can have a remarkable effect on your mood. Both allopathic and homeopathic doctors agree, in fact, that if you smile at another person, make eye contact and “put on a happy face”, the mood is contagious. You will feel better by smiling when you’re sad. It does like a contradiction in terms, doesn’t it ? It also has a “close your eyes and think of England” element. And yet, the irresistible part of the equation is that it works. When you smile, you look happy, well grounded, and joyful. People will respond in kind. You smile, they smile back, and before you know it, you feel happy that someone has smiled at you. The results are exponential. The harried salesperson you made a kind comment to, instead of a snarky one, may well treat her next customer with great customer service, who, in turn, may feel well obliged to donate to a charity on her way out of the store. The “pay it forward” aspect of a simple smile, a kind gesture and a positive attitude, when we least feel like it, can even be returned to us when we least expect it. Additionally, smiling has been shown to increase your immune system’s resistance to illness and to lower high blood pressure.

In Yoga and the path of mindfulness, there is a wonderful tradition from extraordinary Vietnamese Zen Master, Thich Nhat Hanh. In his life changing book, “Peace is every step”, Thich Nhat Hanh discusses smiling at great lengths, and its benefits to calm the body and mind. In one seated meditation, the Master uses this mantra: “Breathing in, I calm my body.Breathing out, I smile.” I have used this technique not only in the classes I teach, but in line at a returns desk, stuck in traffic and during interminable parent conferences at school. It’s not just a gimmick. It truly works, and many cultures believe in the power of the smile. I love Mother Theresa’s thoughts on the subject, as well: “Peace begins with a smile.”

So, today, smile. It really is the best !

Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love. ~ Mother Theresa