I remember in a McDonalds in the country I saw a little plaque that said “If you see someone who doesn’t have a smile, give them one of yours”.
The older I get, the older the people I spend time with get (as you’d expect), and the more serious everything becomes. The more serious everything becomes, the less often people get a chance to smile: not just the kind of smile that comes from politeness – an attempt to suggest that something has been vaguely amusing.
The kind of smile I’m thinking of is the one that tells you a person has – even for a moment – forgotten about their troubles, or the worries that they have, and has had the realisation that there are things in the world to be happy about.
Obviously, it makes me incredibly happy when I see kel smile: although that’s a source of great joy, it’s not exclusively what I’m thinking about.
Going through old photos is a chance to see those kinds of smiles on the faces of friends and family. Every now and again, the photos remind you of people who were happier a while ago: a reminder that something better is possible.
It’s good to have the kind of impact on people that makes them smile.