World Smile Day

Happy World Smile Day. Don't you think this is one of the best things to celebrate!

About Today:
It's a great initiative that Harvey Ball - the commerical artist who created the smiley face back in 1963 - established for the purpose of spreading love through acts of kindness, starting with something as simple as a smile.

Smiling, in any culture, is percieved as a sign of friendliness. In Islam for instance, we view it as the smallest, most effortless charity you can give and our Prophet - peace be upon him - highly encouraged it:

 "Smiling in your brother's face is an act of charity"

تبسمك في وجه أخيك صدقة

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Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him)

In Christianity, smiling is seen as something that brings joy:

"A cheerful look brings joy to the heart"

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Proverbs 15:30

And in Judaism, it is seen as the best form of greeting:

"Receive every person with a pleasant countenance"
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Chapters of the Fathers 1:15

So we can agree, it is a universal belief that smiling, as basic as it is, is a fundamental bond between people and a great factor in spreading happiness.

It is no coincidence that many religions promote smiling and that is that with the joy it may bring, there are health benefits as well, such as:

• Mood Impovement

A study held in Japan in 2010, proved that smiling when you're feeling down, can lead to a better mood, resulting in positive thinking.

• Stress Relief

A study published in Psychological Science in 2015, stated that regular smiling - over any type of mood - helps the body deal with stressful situations by balancing the heart rate and in turn, lowering high blood pressure caused by stress. 

This health benefit reminded me of Smile by Charlie Chaplin:

Smile though your heart is aching.
Smile even though it's breaking.
When there are clouds in the sky
you'll get by

If you smile through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll see the sun come shining through
For you 

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Smile by Charlie Chaplin

 

This song, instead of making me smile, actually makes me depressed, but I love posting dramatic junk like that hehe

• Longevity

A study published in Psychological Science in 2010, predicts that smiling and positive thinking, can lead to longer lives.

What Is The "Smiliest" Country You Ever Visited?
I think the best example of "smiley" people I had witnessed, are Austrians. In all my life I've never met a kinder people. Always smiling and helping out everyone around. I have great respect and admiration for their joyful and welcoming attitude, which would have made staying in a foriegn country a lot harder without. I hope that people around the world would learn from them.

I remember when I was a child, people who visited Oman, always praised Omanis for being nice, smiley and hospitable people. Although I had felt that was true then, I don't feel it's the case today, even if we still hear people saying how nice we are.
When I go out, there is hardly anyone smiling, at least not many to foreigners. I think even foreigners look surprised and excited when we do smile back. I hope my fellow Omanis go back to their nature and maintain their smiles, because I don't want anyone visiting to feel unwelcomed. I do so detest discourteous behaviour.

What Are Random Things That Make You Smile?
There are a lot of things that put a smile on my face but I'll just list those that I can think of at the moment:

• Waking up early
• Hearing birds chirping outside my window
• Looking at random pictures of babies
• Drinking some glorious tea
• Getting a message from someone saying they thought about me when they saw a picture or read a certain article
• Making people smile
• Praying on time (It can make me smile all day)

Most of all, I smile when people smile because it's the best feeling and it's certainly contagious.

To celebrate this day, why not try doing things that make you smile!