Today’s Walk

“You have a pretty smile,” said my husband as he hugged me and walked out the door. (As great first line for a novel, but not where this is going.)

His comment was not unusual for a husband to say to his wife. But it’s notable to me for two reasons. My normal facial expression is dour, even when I’m not feeling dour. Only my childhood pictures taken by professional photographers have me smiling. Candid shots from then show the dour-faced me. I actually think about that situation a good bit.

But in my adult years, others have complimented my smile. So, a while back, I consciously decided to use my smile. Working for a small college, I walked the campus whenever possible, and I encountered a lot of people each day. I smiled and spoke to them. A true daughter of the South, I cannot understand how some people can totally ignore others when they pass then. Some don’t speak or make eye contact, much less smile. But I do now and did then. And it didn’t go unnoticed.

As my retirement date loomed, I was, once again, out and about when a campus police officer stopped his car and rolled down the window. With some hesitancy, I greeted him and managed a smile. Congratulating me on retiring, he said, “One of the things I like about you is that you are always smiling. I’ll miss seeing that.”

I’m really not recounting this to brag. My smile was a gift of birth. I didn’t make it myself. I’ve done nothing to earn it or improve it. I just share it.

Once again, science confirms what nature knows. A smile is one of those good things freely available to humans. And a smile is good not only for the recipient but also for the one who smiles. A smile releases chemicals that make us happy—even when we don’t feel that way—as well as reduce stress. And other people like us better and are more drawn to us when we smile (Duh!).

Think about people who smile frequently and freely. All Denzel Washington has to do to get me to follow him anywhere is smile at me. The television character of Jamie on “Blue Bloods” affects me the same way.

And, I’ve been following my husband’s smile for many years!