Comedian George Burns said that he was advised: "Let a smile be your umbrella." He said, "I tried that once. I had pneumonia for six weeks and shrunk a $450 suit."
All right. Maybe it won't keep you dry in the rain, but there are other good reasons to smile. Author Brian Tracy tells us that the face requires 12 muscles to smile and 103 to frown. (Who counts these things?) He also says that whenever you smile at another person, it puts them at ease and raises their self-esteem. And if that isn't enough, when you smile it releases endorphins in your brain and gives you a feeling of well-being and contentment.
So a smile benefits the giver as well as the receiver. It's like receiving a gift in return every time we give one away!
Rabbi Hirsch gives more reasons to smile:
Smiling is a universal language.
+ People will enjoy being around you when you smile.
+ Smiling reduces stress, which may improve your overall health.
+ Smiling will change the sound qualities of your voice when you speak or sing.
+ A smile costs nothing but gives much. It enriches those who receive it, without making poorer those who give.
+ It takes but a moment, but the memory of it lasts forever.
+ It cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away.
And finally, some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of yours, as no one needs a smile so much as one who has no more to give.
Why not give out a few extra smiles today -- just for the fun of it!
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