“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine” (Proverbs 17:22). So, in the face of dire daily events and even direr predictions, how under the sun can one be merry? One has to look for ways!
When I was much younger, I had the idea that when I grew older, I’d be plump and merry, laughter crinkling my merry little eyes, wisdom and song springing from my years of accumulated wisdom. Now that those years are present instead of future tense, I find the only truth is the plump part. Did I gain wisdom along with weight? Maybe, but what good is it if I can’t use it any more and nobody else cares to hear it?
But smiles and laughter are free and readily available to all. That, I can do! Being merry can be spontaneous or it can be an acquired habit, something to work toward. Does someone say something that rankles? Instead of a sharp retort, how about a smiling response? That can be totally unexpected and unsettling to the rankler. When aches and pains cause me to be anything but merry, forcing a smile instead of a frown really does seem to make me feel better. When someone voices a view that sharply disagrees with mine, how about a smile and a “God bless you?” That sort of stops the argument before it starts.
As Bing Crosby sang, “Whenever skies are gray don’t worry or fret
A smile will bring us sunshine and you’ll never get wet
So let a smile be your umbrella
Be your big umbrella on a rainy, rainy day.”
A big plus is when you smile at others, it’s contagious, like a sneeze, and it makes them wonder what you’ve been up to!
________________________________________________
Darcy smiles a lot, that is, she smiles when she isn’t seriously quiet to keep from being detected by a bad guy or dangling upside down in an abandoned well, or swinging a mallet at the head of a kidnapper or running from a burning barn or…well, you get the picture.
http://pen-l.com/Mystery.html
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=blanche+day+manos
Speak Your Mind