Smiling is not hard.
If you’re reading this, I’d like to ask you for a small favor.
Get up from your bed or desk or whatever and walk to the nearest mirror.
Now look at yourself.
Assuming that you may be a bit upset with the fact that I just took you away from whatever very important thing you were doing, I assume you are not smiling.
In fact, you’re probably frowning.
Or maybe you’re not quite frowning, but rather, drooping, you know, when you’re entire face has reached the comfort of kind of just hanging there.
It’s cool, mine is, too.
But not for long, my friends!
Let me lead you in this simple, step-by-step process to fix that miserable look on our faces.
Please note that I am performing each of these tasks in real-time in my own mirror, because I can’t possibly ask you to do something I wouldn’t do.
Okay, first, place your index fingers in the corners of your mouth and pull upward.
At this point, your frown should be transformed into a physically forced, awful-looking fake smile.
Your eyes are still drooping, so try to look surprised.
There, wow!
We might look ridiculous, but it’s a start, and that’s really all we need.
Living in a world where everyone seems to be frowning, most of our faces have found comfort in the constant “droop.”
It doesn’t have to be that way, though.
We can fight the droop.
I’ve attempted to train myself to smile both out of hope and out of fear.
In terms of fear, I have witnessed the terror of my droop-face first hand.
I sometimes look in the mirror and imagine what it would be like to meet myself for the first time while wearing such an unfortunate expression.
I have come to the conclusion that I would run far, far away.
But on the side of hope, I think that it’s my responsibility as a living, breathing human to make an effort to share a light with those around me. I choose to believe that my efforts could make a difference in the lives of others. It’s a conscious effort, though, and I know I often times fail.
Every day is a new one, though.
Every day presents hundreds of new opportunities to smile, to be a light to the world around us.
Whether your teeth are crooked or straight, whether you have all of them or none at all, smile.
Pay your light forward, fight the droop-face, and change the world.
