6 Ahau - Smiles Are Free

¨Smiles flow freely on the rivers of love & joy.¨ OJO

  In every culture, religion and race on this planet the one guaranteed universal expression of happiness is a SMILE - something so incredibly powerful to our hearts and spirits.  As infants it is one of the first emotions through gesture we share with our family and as we reach old age our smiles have been etched upon our faces in the lines of time we call wrinkles, or preferably, our ´laugh lines´.

When I was a kid I remember reading on the McDonald´s menu board ¨smiles are free¨, many times this phrase has stuck out in my mind and I´m not sure if this is still advertised, inside my heart I hope it is.  Considering the worldwide invasion of this restaurant it feels good to think that throughout these vast differences in cultures, cities and food preferences, there is one place of familiarity and a free smile for all!

When we smile it is a gift reflected on many levels.  It is essentially an action we ´do´in the NOW - but a smile from someone can linger as a memory for years to come, creating a smile from within to the receiver at any time when recalling these momemts.  Sometimes even indirect smiles that we are not involved in can trigger our smile within - such as watching a parent and child playing and laughing in the park.  We share in their joy, from a physical distance and from an internal stirring in our hearts, we smile in recognition.

As an act of joy a smile can instantly change any situation. As an emotional response a smile can bring hearts closer to each other - like a beam of light from the sun, a smile is free to give and receive - IT IS freedom, we have the freedom of choice at any time to smile.  We can smile to others and to ourselves, it is our common bond and a true gift of the heart we create and transmit all throughout our lives.

What connection is there between smiling and creativity.....Are we more creative individuals when we  smile often?  Does the inner joy reflect into our creative processes as a physical manifestation?  Do we see more beauty in life  and then create more because of this smile we send forth?  I suppose the Smiling Buddha or perhaps Mona Lisa could answer some of these questions with a definitive answer.

Of course we all know that laughter is the best medicine, so in response to that - SMILE ON!  Whatever you create with your smile - be it sharing moments of joy, beautiful laugh lines to age with or simply making a choice to smile in a moment of adversity - remember, it is the language of ALL people.  There is no-one we cannot communicate to with a smile.  The blind can hear the sound of your smile through laughter, the paralyzed can smile to you through the glimmer in their eyes, and I am sure even those in comatose states can feel a smile in their spirits from those near to them.

Never pass on a moment to share in a smile, we cannot ever presume we will have the opportunity to share it again or what impact it may leave on another, even to ourselves. 

In Lak´ech

Sunshine & Soulshine
Joanna C. Cooke ´OJO´