Choosing to Smile Instead - #write31days 10-26-16

Are you one of those people who gets accused of smiling almost all the time? Are you someone who smiles even when things aren't going well? Have you ever had someone ask you how you can smile at someone who has clearly treated you poorly? How about being asked why you smile at someone who has done wrong to a close friend -- have you been questioned about smiling at them in passing?

Well, I have! Apparently, I smile a lot. I guess it's my facial default mode. I owe some of that to my a father - he had a huge smile almost all the time and extended grace in times when the rest of his family wanted to see someone run out of town. He always told me that no matter what happens, we can choose to smile.

And, as a grown up today, I still have people question me on why I smile so much. Many of these are friends who are walking with me through a tough time (the illness of a loved one, the loss of a job, the end of a relationship, etc.). I've been asked if I'm faking being happy. I've tried to explain that I don't have to be 100% happy to smile. 

So, it stands to reason that I loved it when I found this quote:

Choosing to smile even when you are having a bad day doesn't mean you're being fake. It means you're choosing to focus on all the reasons you have to be thankful instead of the reasons you have to be stressed.

No matter how bad things are going in our lives, we are always given circumstances, things & people which can fill our hearts with thanksgiving - if we will allow them to do so. Money might be a little tight due to health expenses - but, we can be thankful that we have hens laying eggs for us each day; or a church pot-luck dinner to attend; or a restaurant gift card that hasn't been used yet. We might have received an un-welcomed test result - but, we can be thankful that something was caught in it's early stages or that we finally have a name to make reason of the symptoms we've been experiencing. I have a sister-friend who tragically lost a nephew in his late teens. She was assured by an older woman that she had loved that boy as well as he could have been loved. When I first heard that, I wondered if it brought much comfort. But, as I began to think about the loss of one of my children, I realized that going into such a heartbreaking loss with regrets about how I'd treated or cared for my child would have been devastating.

And, another bonus to smiling too much...

"If you laugh a lot,
when you get older,
your wrinkles will be
in the right places."
~ Andrew Mason #quote

5 Minute Free-For-All - Choosing to Smile Instead - #write31days 10-26-16