Julie is having a contest, which requires us to write a post about how we banish the gloomies. 

The other day while I was buying some unhealthy junk food, the man serving me said, “If you don’t mind me saying, you have a beautiful smile.  You smile with your eyes, and seeing people like you during the day makes it go faster.”

Wasn’t that nice of him?

All too often us adults don’t smile with our eyes.  It reaches our mouths only and stops there, since we are just thinking of too many other things than focusing on why we are smiling.  Too many worries and too many lists to really focus on the here and now.  I know when I let go of all the worries, most of them pointless worries, I feel better and happier.

We let life weigh us down too much.  We need to live in the moment and enjoy life.  Take stock of how much is going WELL in our life instead of how much is going WRONG.  Are all those bad things really worth the worry they cause?  Is it the end of the world if everything isn’t absolutely perfect??  NO.  I know I’ve had points in my life where I had to sit back and take stock, accept the bad things, and just move on.  If you let them take over your life, they own you and weigh you down. 

Even little things can make you into a Debby Downer.  Being happy has to be a conscious effort sometimes.  I have to step back, say,

“Self, why are you obsessing about how much this costs you, that a driver that went far too slow or that person that couldn’t drag her butt up a flight of stairs and pushed ‘2’ for her floor??  Is it really worth the furrowed brow and swearing under your breath?” 

Then, I say,

“Self, you are so right!  Why do I get beside myself for no good reason.  Self, you are so smart, and good lookin’ to boot!” 😉

You can always tell when someone is smiling to just be polite, because it seems like such an effort to them.  I know a lady who is always cheerful and always smiles with her eyes.  Her spirit is much lighter for it. 

Children smile with their eyes.  Always.  They live in the moment, and at that moment in time they are happy.  In fact, it usually doesn’t just stop at their eyes, and they smile with their entire body.  One big mass of smiliness.  You just want to smother them in hugs and kisses when they do that.  It is contagious, this smiling thing.  It makes your burdens feel lighter.

Time to move on past the winter gloomies and all things that bring us down.  Look forward to spring…or just look at a smiley little sprite like this one.  That’ll make you smile!  😀