change your ways while you're young
Sometimes it's the simple things in life that leave you with a smile on your face and a spring in your step. As I drove into work this morning, I decided that the Foo FIghters were perhaps not the best soundtrack for my mood, and I reached into my glovebox and pulled out the CD lying on the top of the pile. A couple of seconds later, 'Square One' began and I started to sing along as I pulled up at a set of traffic lights to turn left. The lights began to change, but as I started to move, I glanced to my right and saw that the driver of the car next to me had just glanced over at me. As our eyes met, she shot me a lovely warm, innocent smile. I didn't really have any time to respond, as by now I was moving off round the corner, but it's really lifted my mood.
I'm going to try smiling at people more often. I'm sure most of them will think I'm mental, but if it can brighten just one person's day in the way that this girl has brightened mine, then it has got to be worthwhile.
I'm going to try smiling at people more often. I'm sure most of them will think I'm mental, but if it can brighten just one person's day in the way that this girl has brightened mine, then it has got to be worthwhile.
posted by swisslet @ 09:26
8 Comments:
At 10:36 am,
John McClure said…
She wasn't smilnig, mate, she was laughing at the face you pull when you go for that Chris Martin falsetto.
At 11:38 am,
Teresa Bowman said…
I had a similar moment a few years ago when I was walking along St James's Parade in Bath, listening to my Walkman. I'd just realised I was walking along in time to the music (kind of "Saturday Night Fever" style), the thought made me laugh at myself, I looked up and there was this girl walking in the opposite direction, with headphones on, doing exactly the same thing. We grinned at each other and went our separate ways. A lovely moment.
That's one of the (very many) nice things about music. It brings your guard down and helps you "let yourself go", and makes it easier for you to connect with other people.
Keep singing, dude. Singing's brilliant.
At 12:17 pm,
izchan said…
Did you know that smiling gives you a better chance of not getting cancer?
Smile. Avoid Cancer.
:)
At 1:32 pm,
adem said…
I do find that if someone smiles at me then I smile back, and vice versa. Just imagine what would happen if everyone smiled more, world peace, goodwill to all men (and women), ah what a life that'd be.
N.B. It always gives you a boost when the person smiling at you is a 'fitty'.....
At 4:10 pm,
HistoryGeek said…
This a.m. there was a guy walking along the street with his headphones on smiling to beat the band. We didn't catch eyes, but it was a bit of warmth on this grey, foggy morning.
At 11:20 pm,
Shane said…
I had a pal who employed your smile-at-strangers strategy. Like you, he expected most people to think he was mental - which they all did. That was until the day when the most beautiful person he'd ever seen smiled back. He went on to marry that girl. She turned out to be mental.
At 2:51 pm,
LB said…
people are attracted to smiley people, it makes you look like you are comfortable with yourself and relaxed.
although wandering around looking like the Joker off of Batman might not have exactly the right effect.
i learnt that a little while back. If you see someone nice, seize the moment, smile and say "hello".
Can't say I have put it into practice yet, although I would argue I haven't met anyone randomly yet that my theory would apply to. ahem.
At 7:11 pm,
red one said…
There's a car journey game from when I was a kid where you tried to make people in other cars (the ones stuck next to you in traffic jams or at lights) smile or laugh.
The main way of making this happen was smiling at them. (and being a cute little kiddie helped, I suspect).
It was fun. Made it worth getting stuick in traffic.
red
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