Smiling: A Weapon of Mass Destruction

Recently, I became aware of a Weapon Of Mass Destruction: Smiling

Last week, a guy smiled at me, and I became supremely aware that in that moment I was witnessing who he really is. Defenses dropped, heart open, sense of humor engaged, ease of being fully recognized.

And it was like a bomb to my carefully constructed hideout.

I smiled back. I dropped my defenses and let the warmth of who I am, and the truth of it be seen.

Then the wall went back up.

Ugh....

But, what I got out of that, is that smiling is the key to shining. And the anti-serium to fear and isolation.

My yearbook teacher, Mr. Coleman used to say that it took more muscles to frown that it did to smile. Of course! Smiling should be easy and natural, because it is so.

Would we have been able to take down a terrorist with a smile? Maybe if we sat down and had a heart-to-heart. A round table discussion with the likes of Jim Gaffigan, Oprah Winfrey and Tony Robbins, and Mariyln Monroe, if she were still here.

I suspect that smiling is our own pesonalized Neon billboard that advertises to the world who we are. It is also a cleverly disguised Weapon Of Mass Destruction against fear- it's a friggin' Love Bomb meant to blow us away with the truth of who we are.

I'll be dropping love bombs like F' bomb's in the next 365.