Smiling is contagious

I'm an open book.  You can ask me anything and I will give you the honest answer.  I've always said that one should be careful with the questions they ask because you just might get an answer.  Don't set yourself up to receive information you don't want. Don't ask the questions if you have not prepared yourself for the possibility of every answer. I've blogged many times on individuality (or lack there of), viewing life from different perspectives, being you, and your "normal". 

I am honest. I'm sincere.  I'm not mean or hateful. I make excuses for every person in order to justify not being upset with a situation.  For instance, lets say the person driving in front of you is doing 45 in a 55.  That's irritating, huh? What if it's actually a girl who has soup in her front seat that she's taking to her very sick mother, and she's trying to not spill it.  How about the guy in the movies that's texting?  Really, guy?! Well, maybe he just got a text alert from his doctors office about his diagnosis...maybe he was at the movies to just pass the time and try not to worry. Maybe the girl that seemingly hates her job at Sonic this morning is actually just tired from working all three of her jobs to get through college. The old man walking slow that inconvenienced you so much at Walgreens that you had to go down a different isle is just there because he used to pick up his wife's prescriptions before she passed away, and being at Walgreens feels comforting. How about the parents of the young kid on the bike that darted out in front of your car.  Where are his parents? Terrible parenting, right?  What if his father is fighting for our country, and the mother was right there, but the child didn't hear her say to stop. 

I'm not saying to make excuses for everyone you come in contact with.  I am simply saying that maybe we should all think about what possibilities might be going on in other people's lives. None of our lives are the same.  We are all dealing with different situations in our lives. Be patient with each other...you have no idea what their life luggage contains. You don't know what they have to carry with them every day for the rest of their lives.

Be kind.  Say sorry, and mean it. Be honest.  Be helpful.  Pay for someone behind you in the drive through. Be gentle.  Give a homeless person $50 just because.  Be patient. Don't yell. Buy someone's dinner across the restaurant. Be love to others. Be sweet.  Be thoughtful.  Send flowers to someone anonymously.  Smile.  Compliment people.  Tip $100 for no reason at all. Be positive. 

Smiling is contagious. Just smile.