It might be rare in this modern age, but I still believe that people are inherently good, that we don’t purposefully mean to do harm or mislead others. For the most part I consider myself a good and honest person, a person who cares for and looks out for even those that I do not know well, but I have come to a realization of late. Even the most honest person can be dishonest in the most common simplistic way, in a way that we would never really consider unless we truly took the time to reflect and think about it.

All humans are dishonest, even the purest of heart. We as humans have emotions and with each emotion we associate an expression. Emotions are so complex yet we only associate them with a stereotypical expression. Sadness and frowns, pain and grimaces, exhaustion and yawns, and anger and glares are just a few of the stereotypes that we use to generalize the complex, confusing states of human nature known as emotions. We lie to one another more often than we think because we are so willing to accept emotions with the stereotypical expressions we associate them with.

I have come to realize that we are all dishonest, we are masters of disguise. It is not our fault, it is human nature that has been instilled upon us over the course of human existence. We are taught at a young age to not judge a book by its cover, to not judge someone or something based on its outward appearance, yet we so frequently just accept a facial expression at its face value.

Just think about it, if you see someone crying, our instincts may push us to comfort a person, to try and make them feel better. Yet if we see someone smiling we rarely question it, we just accept that because a person is smiling that means that they are happy. So I’m going to let you in on a secret, a smile is the greatest disguise known to man because it is so common in life yet rarely questioned. I’m not saying that some smiles aren’t genuine, but it really makes you think about the world around you, whether it’s the people you see on a regular basis or just a stranger you see in passing.

You see just because someone is smiling doesn’t mean they are happy, it could just be masking whatever chaos is going on inside their head. It can hide their struggles, their worries, their stress or whatever problems they have going on in their lives. After a while if those feelings are kept hidden they can completely destroy a person, and I’m speaking from experience.

I’ve never been one to talk about my feelings and as a result I’ve never really understood the power of emotions until they consumed me. I’m also the person who is known for their positive energy, constant smile and happy presence. I’ve allowed frustrations and sadness to build up and since emotions are so complex I never addressed them and let them just build up. I was struggling with things but I was able to play it off as if everything was okay by just flashing a simple smile.

The problem with hiding emotions is that after a while they build up to the point where even a smile is hard to muster. They build up and slowly eat away at you until you feel like nothing, just lost, confused and unconfident. And only then when you’re on the constant verge of tears do you finally realize how powerful a smile is as deep down you are struggling but nobody noticed because every time they saw you, you were smiling.

Speaking from experience the best thing you can do for yourself is accept the fact that it’s okay to not be okay. Be emotionally honest with yourself, don’t let things build up. Go for a run, go to the gym, sit down and write about it, vent to a friend, or whatever you can to just let it out.

And if you see someone smiling in passing, make the effort to talk to them because sometimes the smallest interaction can make the biggest difference, especially if they are struggling and barely trying to hold things together. Sometimes it may seem easier to just smile and act as if everything is okay, but doing that can do more damage than good. By doing so we are misleading both ourselves and those that care about us.

I have now revealed to you the secret of a smile, the simplest, most common disguise known to man. Well the secret is out, so go out into the world and think about the world and the people around you differently. And remember, it’s totally okay to not be okay, and being honest with yourself will help you get through whatever you may be going through.