Smile, Darn Ya, Smile

Do you ever stop and take a look around and realize that there are plenty of miserable people out there? Judging by many people's facial expressions, you'd think that most folks are, indeed, very unhappy with their lives or their jobs or the stock market or any number of things that can cause a person stress or unhappiness.

From the point-of-view of someone who lives with depression, I sometimes feel like it is not possible for me to get as chemically depressed as some others choose to be emotionally.

As I was out running errands today, I couldn't help but notice the frowns or general lack of any kind of positive emotion or expression on the faces of many people I interacted with. Is it something in the water in my neighborhood or city? While that's a possibility, I tend to notice the same tendency among people most everywhere I go.

At the same time, those few with smiles on their faces were, not coincidentally, also those who seemed to be happiest doing whatever it was they were doing, be it drawing my blood (I donate plasma on a semi-regular basis) or pumping their gas or whatever their task may be. I would also argue that these people aren't necessarily devoid of trials or stress in their lives, but in spite of those things - because we all have them - they choose to remain as positive as they can and to pass that feeling along to everyone they meet.

Let's face it: Happy people are more fun to be around. Because they are happy and they know it, not only do they clap their hands, but they also draw others to them because of that happiness. Their smiles are not feigned or forced and come from their very souls. A smile makes an unattractive person attractive and an attractive person downright foxy.

One of my favorite Old Testament verses is Psalm 118:24, which reads: "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."

That's good advice. As someone else put it, "Any day above ground is a good day."