The Boomerang Effect

It is said laughter is the simplest and most effective cure of all. For me, a smile is. If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours. Smiles take so little effort to manufacture (we all know it takes more muscle action to frown) and yet they're so incredibly powerful. I believe in laughter and I believe in smiles. They show me, every day, how blessed I am to feel. The ability to find that place where laughter dwells is something I don't ever want to lose, no matter what else becomes of me.

I am small and the world is big: big enough to flatten me, if I let it. But the world is also indifferent; humans cannot calculate probability very well, so all our claims about the world "being out to get us" are fallacies. The world doesn't care if we pass our exam, get a traffic ticket, or kiss that one special person for the first time. The world is indifferent to us; thus, we smile to show others we are not indifferent.

Sometimes we all need a little bit of healing: a bad day, a break-up, a fight, a low test score - there are many downers in our days, but there are as many ways to regain our equilibrium as there are stars in the sky. Infinity can be found in a friend. Favors given - or offered - without conditions; an open pair of arms to hold us safe from all the things we fear; a shoulder to cry on; a hand to hold. A smile to share.

We can't all change the world in dramatic ways, but we all know how to destroy someone's world in what is an equally dramatic fashion. We take others down each and every day, sometimes without thinking. For you to win, another person has to lose.

So remember that: what goes around comes around, like a boomerang. Don't get hit with the boomerang; share a smile. You may not be able to stop world hunger in a day or cure cancer (or the common cold, which is more irritating and only life-threatening when combined with PMS), but you can lift someone else out of their misery for a fleeting, flashing moment. Smile. It makes you feel better too.

And here's one from me:
WolfGrrl