SHARE YOUR SMILE...

So said the message on a car bumper sticker yesterday. It got me thinking...I began to practise my smile while driving. It felt both weird and wonderful, until I nearly crashed into somebody ha ha!! How can you be mad with yourself, or anybody else for that matter, when you have a smile on your face? Try it again - smile just like you would for a camera. It feels good, doesn't it? The world really does look better from behind a smile.

It brings to mind a documentary I watched about college graduates in Japan competing for a job in a well known company. One of the skills they had to learn was how to smile correctly in order to land that dream job. Wait for it...this will surely put a smile on your face - they had to practise smiling with a chop stick stuck in their mouths! Surely there must be easier ways of learning how to smile? How about thinking of the funniest joke you ever heard, or even looking at a really funny postcard, the ones that bring tears to your eyes. I keep some of those in my 'Happy Box'.

How about a 'Happy Calendar' where you diary only happy events like birthdays, anniversaries, concerts, theatre, hairdresser, forthcoming holidays, etc. Another quick pick-me-up is to listen to the music of New Mexico singer, Jerry Dean. If Jerry doesn't bring a smile to your face - get out that chop stick!! And if you're hangry (hungry and angry) how about rustling up an omelette - quick and satisfying! If smiling is a 'skill', so too is happiness. The more you practise the art of 'being happy' it becomes like second nature to you. Here's my tip for the day, it works for me. It may work for you too!

Imagine yourself as a lone sailor on the sea of life. You have nobody but yourself to rely on. You become your own BFF. Some days you encounter choppy seas, other days you meet pirates, trying to rob your happiness. Then there will be days when the sun is blazing down upon you, and you give thanks to God for being alive, and for the beauty that is. The most important thing to remember is that YOU are the captain of your own ship. With steely determination, you steer it in the direction you want to go, and with God's grace, you will always arrive safely to shore.

On that positive note, I bid you all adieu and happy sailing!

Polly Hugs!

Patricia xxx