Smile,laugh and feel good

“Smiling is contagious. You can catch it like the flu. When you walk down the streets and people smile at you and you smile back.” Very true indeed! However, a few months back in Male’, I smiled to total strangers in various places and the response was astounding. People were baffle and unsure about how to react. Majority of them could not smile back. I assumed they may have enough things to worry in their lives than smile to total strangers.

Smiling is one of the best medicines around and it is free. Smile and laughter triggers healthy changes in our body physically and mentally. It is believe to have various health benefits. It strengthens your immune system, reduce the risks of heart diseases, and boost your energy and releases stress. Laughter helps us to relax and recharge and dissolve distressing emotions. It also helps us to let go of our defensiveness and helps us to express our true feelings.

Regardless of what life experiences we go through, there are few individuals who can smile and be genuinely happy about simple things in life. I believe they are able to smile and laugh because they are content within despite the circumstances at a particular time. Such people are like rare gems.

I was able to interact with such a gem, a man, who was my father’s age at  IGMH last year. It was remarkable that he was able to smile, laugh and crack jokes in spite of what he was going through at that time. I still remember him even though my interaction with him was only for four days in the gloomy waiting area of ICU .

One of my girlfriends is also blessed with such personality too. If we meet or talk she would lift my spirit instantly and leave me in a good happy mood for the rest of the day. I discovered a third gem quite recently. Every time I speak to him I feel that happy feeling because he is always warm, happy and smiling. I always end up grinning ear to ear, flashing my teeth and laughing all through the conversation. It is sad to realise there are few such people around us during most of our lifetime.