The profound power of a smile, a friendly word, and a kind gesture
The other day, after being treated to a series of insensitive and unsettling low blows by someone close to me, I found myself driving around in a daze of bitterness and anger.
I'd worked very hard over the prior few weeks to keep myself in a positive state so I could be there for my teenage son who was dealing with a quite rare and relatively dangerous medical challenge. Now that mood had turned dark.
Having arrived at my destination, I parked my car and got out to attend to an errand. Parked just next to me was a woman in her early to mid 30's. As I passed behind the back of her car, I noticed she had just finished buckling her young child into her baby carriage and was now trying to lift an awkward sized package from her trunk.
When she looked up, our eyes met for a brief second, and with a warm and genuine smile, she said, hello. Surprised, but instantly warmed by her friendliness, I smiled back, and said, hello, how are you today? Then gesturing to the package, I asked if she needed help. She replied quickly and easily, That's very sweet of you, but I could use the exercise. Plus, you're not likely to be anywhere in sight the next time I need to do this. I smiled back at her. Eased and calmed by her earnestness, I replied with a quick glance skyward at the brilliant sun above, After all that rain lately, finally a beautiful day for the little ones to enjoy being outside. She smiled back at me, glanced lovingly down at her baby, and said, I'll make sure she knows it, too.
And that was it. Just one of hundreds of brief encounters we have with people everyday. Most we hardly realize, the rare few do we ever remember. This one landed, though. It was friendly, pleasant, genuinely warm, and oh so necessary. That brief 4 to 5-second encounter instantly cut away my anger, dissolved my bitterness, and restored my hope. I thought to myself something I think about often and share with others frequently. Mere strangers, random people out there in the world living their lives just as we are living ours, often hold the power and ability to lift and lighten us in ways that even those closest to us rarely can.
The power of a simple smile, a friendly word, and a kind gesture can be immensely gratifying, immediately restorative, and genuinely hopeful and enlightening. Among life's many small joys, these tend to be some of the most potent and most delicious.
-dth