A genuine smile is the best gift you can give anyone. It’s your signature. It’s the invitation that says I’m listening to you, I’m here for you, and I am happy to be around you. It’s the unspoken connection between two souls, two hearts, or two complete strangers. It’s the thing that can keep you right-side-up in an upside-down world.

You don’t have to be on top of the world, or have bitcoin stocks, or even share an opinion. You don’t have to be brilliant, or courageous, or perfect in any way. You simply have to offer your smile, the gift that opens doors and doesn’t require an interpreter. It speaks every language and blesses both the giver and the receiver. It comes in every size, shape, and color, and best of all, it’s free!

Can you imagine what it would be like if God had designed human beings with no ability to express joy and delight? What if He had simply created us with one face that never changed no matter what the circumstance? Would we recognize the blessed light in someone’s eyes that shows compassion and concern? Would we know we are loved and cared about if all we could see was gloom?

Heartfelt, love-filled smiles make a difference. They bring out the best in others and they don’t even require great training or extra education. Your little beam of light just goes ahead of you to find the best place to land, the greatest opportunity to share the goodness in your heart. We’ve all been hidden behind masks for the past couple years and some of us may have forgotten how much we love to see a genuine smile. I invite you then to step out, shine your light, and share that gracious and beautiful smile that captures the hearts of those around you.

You haven’t forgotten how to do it, have you? If need be, you can hum the song along with that genius of smilers, Louis Armstrong and say, “When you’re smilin’…keep on smilin’, the whole world smiles with you.”

When you smile, I want to smile too!

What a blessing you are!