The Magic of My Smile

/ roughwighting

magic, smileAt first, I wasn’t sure how to use it. A handshake made sense, but how many people do I actually shake hands with in a span of a day?

So then I thought, how about just in the tilt of my head? When I’m ready to dispense my magic, I’ll just tilt my head and ta da –magic completed.magic, smile

But no, I decided, too impersonal and detached. Same with my rather whimsical idea of wrinkling my nose aka Samantha in “Bewitched.” When I’m ready to bestow this newfound magic, I need to do it up front and personal. I was rather proud of my new powers, so I wanted to share them in as pleasant and friendly a way as possible.

So my smile became the vehicle for my magic.

Before describing these magical powers, I should explain how I obtained them. Well, I wish I could. I went to bed one night, crabby and disillusioned with the world. Life is such a joy and a privilege, why, I wondered, did people take it on as a chore and a bore? I had had it with unhappy, unpleasant human beings.

butterfly, magicI thought about what a coup it would be if I could somehow change people’s perspective. Let them see the colors instead of the black and white; the rainbow instead of the rain; the butterflies instead of the cocoons.

I woke up the next morning with the power. How did I know I had it? Another good question. I just knew. And once I decided how to use it, the best day of my life began.

I drove to the local cafe, as usual, and ordered my double non-fat latte with foam, double cupped, no top.  Joe, the scar-riddled, gray-faced man behind the counter, looked at me as he always did at 6:45 on Monday mornings and said, as he always did, “We don’t double cup.”

“Beautiful morning,” I replied, as I always did.

“How would I know, I’ve been here since 5 o’clock,” he grumbled back, as he always did.dawn, sunset

Then it happened. I smiled. He looked at me as if he’d been slapped with a feather. He gazed out the large window in the front of the store and nodded his head. “You know, it is a beautiful morning. The sun came up in lavender, pinks, and blues today. An amazing sight.”

Then he double cupped my latte, smiled at me as if he meant it, and said, “Have a great day.”

I bounced out of there with a song in my heart. Yeeeessssss. I drove to my job, thinking of all the people I would smile at. They’d be hit hard. No longer would they find something wrong with their boss or their spouse or their kid or their car or their bus commute or their tight pants or their broken fingernail or their crab-grassed lawn. They would have to see the beauty in every single blooming thing in their life. They’d feel joy. They’d feel love. They’d see the light instead of the dark.

I looked at myself in the car’s rearview mirror and smiled. Gazaam! The song “Good Morning Starshine” came bursting out of my mouth, and I knew I had been blessed with something more powerful than power.

I had magic – in my smile.

Thanks to Google Images. Except for the sunrise. The sunrise is all mine.

64 thoughts on “The Magic of My Smile”

  1. Your smile must work from a great distance too Pamela, as soon as I saw it was a post from you I smiled. A little bit of sunshine in a grey North Wales day.
    Now I’m going to apologise to you. I’d forgotten just how good Oliver’s song was so I’m going to pinch it for my weekly blog if you don’t mind.
    xxx Massive Hugs xxx

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  2. I look forward to your writing each Friday morning! Your images are so descriptive I actually can picture them in my mind. Smiles are contagious! We need to spread them everyday! Our world would be a happier place if more people just “turned up their lips”.

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  3. Understand this completely! The other day two rough looking (not rough wighting!) boys walked in front of my car and they looked at me like, ” you got a problem with us walking here?” I stopped and smiled at them and they just smiled back and then waved like they knew me. It could have gone a whole different direction!

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    • I kind of feel sorry for the people who find a smile from those they don’t know intimidating or strange. I definitely get the odd look now and then from those I smile toward. Oh well (shrug). 🙂

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  6. Amazing how I began smiling as soon as got into your star-shining post. Such a small thing but so powerful. You’ve made my day. Hope next time you need it, someone will make yours. Happy Friday. 😀 😀 😛

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    • I’m ALWAYS happy to get a smile. You’re right, it’s amazing how much a smile from a friend or a stranger can change a day from gray to bright. Also, have you noticed how some not particularly attractive people become beautiful when they smile? I love that.

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  7. As corny and cliche as it sounds, we all have that magic inside of us. It’s those chosen few (winking in your direction) who realize it, use it, and cast their spell on others that helps create a wave of happiness, joy, and gratitude that can’t be ignored. Thanks for sharing Pamela – in so many different ways 😉

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  10. Love this. A smile really does have a lot of power. Unfortunately, it’s more difficult for introverts to pull this off. Our faces tend toward flatness. We have to remind ourselves to lift those lip corners! So here’s one for you now: 🙂

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    • Thank you for that gorgeous smile, Carrie. And you bring up an excellent point. Sometimes I get upset at a person who looks at me with a flat neutral face without acknowledging my presence with even a slight upturn of the lips. But I should realize that shyness and being an introvert can cause one to not be forthcoming with a greeting. And heaven knows, I’ve done that more than once myself, since I sometimes need to hide in my own little ‘intro’ shell.

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  12. What a lovely piece! Never underestimate the magic of a smile. Even just smiling to oneself in the mirror causes great bursts of positive emotions. And the spread is contagious if we smile to others.

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  16. Love that- magic in your smile and transforming the world with your powers, Pam. Makes me think of a teacher of mine, Camille Maurine” who talks about creating your own atmosphere and breathing in that as you walk in the world.

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  17. I just smiled at the French baker and it worked. He was friendly or he thought I was a lunatic. No smiles for the driver of the van that drove us from the airport trying to suffocate us by not turning the air conditioning on. Have a great weekend.

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  19. Absolutely love this post! I am also a fan of Oliver’s song, “Good Morning, Starshine.” I could see this as being “The Invention of Smiling,” which it would be a play on “The Invention of Lying.” Did you ever see this witty but sweet movie with Ricky Gervais and Jennifer Garner.

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    • I just put the movie “the Invention of Lying” on my ‘bucket list’ of movies to watch. Thanks! A book or movie about what happens in people’s lives, as soon as they smile more at others, could be a fun one, couldn’t it?

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  21. I often smile at strangers in the grocery store especially when it’s crowded and busy. Amazing how many people will smile back.

    A smile carries a great deal of power! I’m glad you shared this story. It’s a wonderful one. 😀

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  22. If we are not creating magic for each other, then goddess knows where it is going to come from. Not waiting for Prince Charming. Being the magic. I love it!

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  24. Use that magic, spread it far and wide, for a smile in the US can turn into a crowd of voices raised in joyful song by the time in reaches the UK and uplift a thousand spirits, for like the proverbial butterfly that flaps its wings into a tornado, the magic of a smile is much, MUCH bigger than we could ever imagine (even those of us with plenty of imagination to spare 🙂 ) Beautiful post my friend 🙂 Hugs, H xxx

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    • I love it when I’m writing and just the right expression pops in my head. Slapped with a feather was just such an example. Sounds rather enticing, doesn’t it? 🙂

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  30. This made me smile Pam 🙂 It reminded me of the old Cliff Richard film ‘Summer Holiday’ which starts in rainy, monochrome 60’s London only to suddenly burst into joyous colour and song.

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