The other day I had my passport photo
taken, retaken and retaken again. You
see there cannot be a hint of a smile, and for some reason, even though my pearly
whites were securely hidden, something was causing my photo to be rejected time
after time. If it hadn’t been for my
son’s photos on the exact same camera, with the exact same ‘passport photo
technology’ on the very first occasion being so readily accepted with a blazing
green computer tick, I would have assumed there was something wrong with the
camera, or the associated technology.
With the camera lens directed towards me, it
was very difficult to resist the automated temptation to smile, and even though
I was not consciously smiling back at the camera, I did feel that my eyes, like
a gentle hum, were slightly smiling. It was something that I had hoped to conceal,
as those mug shots are so unappealing, but there was no tricking this
technology. Bemused by this I could not
help feeling that, in the search for my true identity, the computer assessed
these mug shots and said. ‘No, that just does not look like her’. In the end I acquiesced and did as I was
instructed to do, draining the smile from every aspect of my face until finally
I was rewarded with the photo that was expected; dull, lifeless, functional.
Smiling to me is the essence of love,
humanity and compassion. There is
nothing richer than walking down the street, sharing a smile with a passerby and
in turn being rewarded with a full-bodied smile. It’s such a giving thing to do, yet takes so
little effort. Smiles are effervescently
loaded with boundless joy, pepping up all those that come into contact with one,
providing happiness-inspired fuel to pass onto the next person making our day,
and hopefully theirs, just that little bit more joyful. It’s such an open and selfless act and I often
ponder how the world could be transformed, with random acts of conscious
smiling. As part of a bid to improve
community connectedness, a few years ago the Maribyrnong Police department ran
an innovative smile campaign to astounding success. Whilst more recently at an
Association for Applied Therapeutic Humor Conference in San Diego last year,
one of the activities was a ‘Smile Squad’, where a group of slightly mad and
far too happy people, carted swags of cardboard cutout smiles on sticks, and
loaded themselves with supplies of smiley faced sweets to hand out. You probably have figured out by now that I
was one of those slightly mad and far too happy people!
As one large smiley movement we waltzed
down to the port area, smiling at as many people as we could, handing out
paraphernalia to willing, and some not so willing people of all ages, ethnicity
and financial means. Some distanced
themselves from accepting both smiles and ‘fake smiles’, yet the vast majority
embraced us, leaving us with a smile and buoyed mood. In the hour or so that we
were on ‘smiley walkabout’ we met an array of people ranging from; policeman,
tourists, homeless people, children with their families, protesters, all so
different, yet with one shared smile, became a united force. Two smile exchanges were particularly
memorable; one with two San Diego policemen who took time to put their arms
around us for a cheesy grinned photo whilst patrolling a permanent fixture of protesters
against US navy ship presence in San Diego.
The other, was with a toothless homeless person, bearing a shoddy piece
of wilted cardboard with the words written in looped scrawl; “My wife’s lawyer
was better than mine”. The mood on the streets sweetly transformed to one more
akin to a street festival or carnival. People stopped to have their photos taken
with us, children skipped away with their smiley sweets; young lovers posed kissing
each other with those delicious cardboard lips.
On our way back to the hotel, on a happiness high and already in
premature reminiscent mode, we were amazed at how many people that we had
passed earlier in the day, excitedly waved at us and flung an array of genuine
smiles our way.
Smiles are such a powerful force and I am
so grateful that I live in Melbourne, where on the whole smiles are given and
accepted freely and willingly. One can never play down the effect that a smile
may have on someone’s day. Who knows, it
might be the only smile that they have received today, yesterday, maybe in a
week, or even sadder, even longer than that.
A smile inherently says I acknowledge you, and all is well with the
world, and when it is reciprocated and shared, for a momentary lapse of time, a
bridge is constructed joining two people together in perpetuity. So don’t waste opportunities to spread the
joy that is so perfectly encapsulated in a smile. Go forth and smile.
In love and laughter, Ros J
