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Smile... You'll make your brain wonder what your face is up to.
Have you ever seen a poster featuring that old saying "Smile, everyone will wonder what you're up to?"
Where I grew up there was a version of that poster hanging in our laundry room that had Garfield on it, his big cat grin was always pretty humorous.
But no matter how I tried I couldn't force myself to smile all the time. I felt like a moron trying to walk around with a grin on my face for no reason. I was just talking to a friend at work and he said he was driving along behind woman and he caught sight of her face in her side view mirror, she was wearing a huge grin. Maybe she was listening to something funny on the radio, that would do it, then again maybe she was just applying that old "feel good" technique.
That's actually what it is. Check it out — when you hear, see or think something funny your brain releases endorphins that cause you to feel pleasant and happy, the muscles that make you smile go to work and you end up looking happy.
It's been found to work in reverse too. When you smile for no reason, your brain will release endorphins causing you to feel happy. So, you can smile because you're happy, or smile to be happy, it works either way. But is it a good idea to pretend be happy all the time? I don't think so.
Someone who tries to be happy all the time could end up being confused with their inner feelings and emotions. There's no logic in smiling just so others "wonder what you're up to." Even if smiling makes us feel happy, there's a time and a place.
There's a fellow where I work who's always sporting a dumb grin with his eyebrows raised as if he's in a state of euphoria. He looks like a complete idiot. I don't wonder what he's up to, I wonder why the heck he walks around looking like a dope all day.
A positive attitude is one thing, a false expression of happiness is quite another. Think positively, be positive all you want, that's great. But why sport a smile just to appear happy? Will it truly make you happy?
Humans have various emotions and facial expressions to match them. We can't trick ourselves into being happy, we'll only end up fooling ourselves and looking like demented twits to everyone we pass on the street. If we're sad we need to feel sad, let the emotion run it's course and get to the bottom of the sadness. If we're angry we need to handle our anger, not try to mask it with a phony smile.
Where I grew up there was another poster, this one hanging on my father's filing cabinet. It was, and still is, my favorite sentiment. It was a closeup of a majestic bald eagle, appearing rather stoic, with eyes half-massed, beak fixed and stern. The caption: "I Am Smiling."
Be yourself, and feel the way you feel. Everyone will wonder why you're not like everyone else.
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