Always Keep Smiling

The smile that changed my life

I had to have been studying in the third or fourth grade when I came across this lovely poem. It was part of our syllabus. To this day, I do not understand what might have possibly influenced my young mind to get so captivated by the words of the poem.

Maybe it was the colorful images that caught my attention. Or maybe, it was the way my teacher read the poem out loud. Although going by my gut feeling, I guess it was the simplicity of the tone of the poem and the feel that the words evoked in the mind of a thoughtless, restless child.

I do not remember what colors decorated the pictures, nor do I remember the exact words of the poem. What I do remember, though, is that all the people and kids in that picture were smiling. And one of the schoolkids was smiling right at me, waving as the bus moved off towards its destination.

I remember smiling back at the kid. And after that, I was obsessed with the idea of spreading a smile. Because that was what the poem was about.

It is incredible how something so influential could come from an inanimate rough drawing of a child merely smiling. This infectious phenomenon spread from a young little boy to a rickety old lady to an anxious-looking man waiting at a signal. And of course, in my minute world of imagination, it spread even further, silently.

However, this obsession of mine came to an abrupt halt when my family shifted permanently to India. What a gentle smile once meant infecting a complete stranger with your happiest moment, in India, this same smile meant inviting strange looks and mostly unwanted attention.

The concept of a smile seemed bizarre to share with anyone else instead of your loved ones. People still smiled, yes, but not to share that happiness with one another. Everyone seemed busy with their own priorities. Anxious to get something done, reach somewhere amid all the congestion on the roads. It seemed to me that they were trapped in a lonely-looking atmosphere where not even a smile could arrive. It took me a while to get used to this wistful reality.

Never one to give up, I still kept my tradition of spreading a smile alive, albeit conservatively. Mostly sharing it with the stray dogs. Or when I had to thank someone. And let me tell you, I did happen to get a taste of my own medicine most unexpectedly.

In the neighborhood that I resided in for a while, there was a building rented out to bachelors. On its second floor lived a person, let us call him my neighbor for convenience's sake, who would create a forever cherished moment of my life. I had been busy studying for my 12th-grade finals, and he had appeared on his floor with a friend, chatting and laughing. I did try my best not to heed them any mind, but when, for a moment, my eyes drifted towards their direction, my attention was held.

The friend was holding up a lit matchstick, and both of them were looking in my direction. The next moment, he flicked the matchstick over his tongue and put out the fire. It was an exact replication of a famous Bollywood movie scene. I had burst out laughing without actually realizing I was openly looking at them performing their theatrics. At that moment, my neighbor said with a very audible volume, 'Hey look, she laughed!'

To this day, that incident conjures up all the feelings I had felt in that past moment, bringing a delicious and giddy smile to my face.

It is this very thought that prompted me to begin observing people around me. As they lived through the passing seconds, I scanned their faces for hints that belied their emotions. Of course, not all expressions revealed what I was hoping to see.

It was only at times, like the moment I witnessed a lady at a bus stop, looking tired. She was sitting on the bench, one moment leaning forward, hands on her knees, and the other moment she leaned backward, resting her shoulders and head on the wall behind. I watched as she exhaled audibly, then closed her eyes. Her face relaxed momentarily, a small smile forming on her lips before she opened her eyes and faced forward. The smile was gone. I continued looking her way till our gazes eventually connected. I offered her a 'Please cheer up' loaded smile, and she returned a tired smile my way.

Some other times I would watch an old man hobbling along, shaking his walking stick with a flourish before setting it down. He would have this crinkly frown on his face until he came across another person. And the crinkly frown would transform to a wide partly-toothless grin-cum-smile as he passed by them. I would find myself smiling at this sight.

The power of this silent phenomenon is immense. A smile can make a cold-hearted heart fill up with the warmest of sunshine; it can make an emotionally guarded person break down in a single moment. It can make a babe cry out with joy or fear, depending on how the smile appears to the infant. Of course, a smile can mask years of pain behind the simple curve; it can reflect years of pain in a single moment, all without the need for a deep bond between two people.

It is a beautiful moment when two strangers connect in the flurry of happiness and then stay their course, drifting far apart from that point of life. Yet they return to relish the delightful joy of living that moment again when their mind is uncluttered and free from present afflictions.

There have been countless occasions in my short life where I have been an unconditional receiver of pleasant and sometimes equally revolting smiles. But there is this one moment that I would love to share with you; this moment when I had the opportunity to relive the feelings I once felt when I had come across the poem.

This was when I visited a university for a volleyball tournament with a dear friend and another group of friends who had recruited us. It was almost sunset that the match had ended, and we were all heading out of the campus. I was walking ahead of the group, a skip in my step, feeling good about the day. The rumbling noise of a bus approaching us from behind drew my attention, and I turned around to look at it and began walking backward.

As the bus neared, I spotted a guy at a window talking to his friend. He had just turned around with this happy smile on his face when our eyes met. Instinctively, I smiled, and unconsciously, I lifted my hand and waved at him. I realized what had happened when I noticed his eyes go wide. I froze mid-action. However, to my relief and surprise, the guy waved back at me, smiling.

I laughed out loud and waved again as the bus rumbled past us. Only the next moment, all the guys in the bus were hollering and waving at me, a loud chorus of 'Hey' and 'Woohoo' resounding as the bus drove farther away.

I could not believe what had just happened and turned to look at my friends, clutching their stomachs and laughing at me. I stood there watching them; hands in my pocket and a smile on my face as the sun set behind in the distance. It had been a perfect picture back then.

There is no reason in this wide world to act frugally in sharing a smile. And if you are not comfortable smiling at others, then smile for yourself. Out there, under the open blue sky, stand by the side and smile. You never know. Your smile might turn into a catalyst, starting a chain reaction that will, in many possible ways, reach a person at the other side of the world, changing their lives for the good.