Low Smilage

A few weeks ago, I was out & about shopping. While waiting in line, at the register, I noticed a little boy. He was just standing there, waiting too. He turned around to look at me & I responded with a smile. He was at that age, where some little ones, don’t easily smile at strangers. Anyway, after about 5 seconds…he smiled back. It’s amazing how such a simple gesture can reach way down into your heart & affect you. He was cute, but when he smiled, he sparkled. I’m sure he had no idea, at such a tender age, that his smile was a gift to me. I wanted to say, “Hello,” but figured that I’d better not push it. Anyway, it just made me happy.

This leads me to a growing concern that I’ve had. People don’t say, “Hello,” or smile at strangers much on the street any more. I know this, because I walk a good 2 hours every day & have experienced it first hand. A few here & there will respond when you smile, nod or greet them, but so seldom, now it seems.
It’s like these stores & business that have double doors, but only ever have one of them unlocked. Why?? Are they conserving on the use of that one door. Will they trade off next week & lock the other one & have you walk through the one that was locked last week? Seriously…. it drives me crazy. It's absurd, I realize that. That is actually the point.
Why are people holding back from greeting one another? Must our hellos, smiles or head nods be conserved & kept all to ourselves? Are we going to run out? Maybe it’s just me, but there’s all this talk of renewable energy. I’m fairly confident that if we smile at the first person we pass on the street….we will still have plenty left for even the last person we see at the end of the day. In fact, I bet the more we use those gifts, the more we will have to give in the future. It's just a guess, really, but I think smiles produce after their own kind. If there is one thing that is free & renewable today, its love & respect for our fellow man. Not only that, but what we share will be returned….that should be how it works anyway.

The Heavenly Father desires that we be like little children. There are so many adult attitudes that should be decidedly more childish. There is a purity of heart in a child. It is unadulterated, unpolluted & undefiled by the jaded adult experiences. As adults, we cannot keep from having these experiences, but the key is how we process them & allow them to mold us & contribute to our attitudes & perspectives.

Can I mention Peter Pan here? I just really like him....what a splendid perspective. There is this person I know that reminds me of him. While being an intellectually mature adult & even having gone through plenty of difficulties, he manages to have retained a delightfully childlike quality. A person like that is all too rare, I think. Why can’t we turn around in the line at the store & simply smile at the person behind us, without them thinking we are strange. Why can’t we at least nod our heads as we pass one another on the sidewalk? I think we can & we should choose to acknowledge others as often as possible. Children are a gift, not because they are young. They bring to the world what it would desperately miss without them….an ability to give freely to others, out of a sincere heart. This needn't end with childhood.
Being like little children….sometimes only takes a smile.