4 January 2002

I received this from one of my email groups. I just wanted to share it because it is how I think and feel often…

one thing i learned.. late in life. it came at me in three ways at the same time. I had one friend tell me I needed to smile at people. I said, but I'm not happy. she said 'its for them'. I thought it was intrusive, it was seeking contact. then one of my buddies says his mother worked at our company and I wondered why I didn’t see her.. well she worked in the stock room which I didn’t need to get components anymore but did walk by, and he said she said I was unfriendly cause I never smiled at anyone.... then I'm at this yuppie seminar thing.. I was getting desperately unhappy... I learned a lot there. one thing is that you always smile at people.. okay not if you are running a 102 fever.. giggle.. but its a gift to them. okay the last thing was seeing the new Bridget Fonda little Nikita movie and she was taught (as assassination training) to always smile when she walked into a room, because it relaxed people and made them easier targets

so now I smile at people. many times it still feels intrusive. but I get a lot of smiles back. many people I notice will say something to me because I smiled at them. I mean, like they are lonely and were encouraged to say something. other times I get big happy smiles back, especially from fast food clerks (giggle)

so check yourself, how often do you smile at people? I know if felt horribly dishonest at first. but I can also take it to mean 'I’m smiling to let you know I’m not going to bite you' which is true. and now i find the world an incredibly friendlier place. at least on a casual level.

Blessed Be!