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Smile and the world smiles with you.
Weep and you weep alone.
This is a phrase that I remember often being quoted from my youth around my house. It always held some sort of resonance with me but at the time I never knew quite why.
I also find it again in a much more recent poem by Jack Ellison 2014 (granted he uses the word cry instead of weep, but let’s not sweat the small stuff – There is a very powerful message here!
It’s the first day of the rest of my life
I’m feeling reborn
Filled with great anticipation
Wondering what exciting things
Lie just ahead
It seems it’s all up to us
We’re the ones steering my ship
If things don’t turn out bright and cheery
We only have ourselves to blame
However I am not unique
Everyone controls their own destiny
I’ve learned this fact early on
There’s a time honoured old saying
Smile and the world smiles with you
Cry and you cry alone
So very true!!!
So when you’re feeling down
And it seems like the whole world is against you
Just smile to yourself
It doesn’t matter who’s watching
Soon the sun will come out
And you’ll have a brighter cheerier outlook
To overcome anything this old world can throw at you
When we smile we send a strong message of ‘calm’ to our bodies. It is sending a very straightforward message that ‘all is well’. Our body reacts accordingly and uses up less energy because it has just received a message that there is no danger afoot.
How do we know there is ‘no danger afoot?’ The secret to solving this is to revisit our ancestral evolution where there were wild and ferocious animals lurking in the forests.
If you were being attacked by a wild animal (for instance a prehistoric lion!), I ask you one question – do you think you would be smiling?? The answer I dare say is absolutely not.
So – Absence of smiling = A message of danger to our bodies (using up vital energy as we need energy to resist ,fight and run)
Smiling = A message of wellness (saving energy as no danger is present)
So when we smile we save our energy which in turn is good for our bodies.
The bottom line is Smile more often it is good for your health.
Next week I am going to write about – A duck is a duck !
