A Smile at a Time Makes the Whole World go 'Round

For the Vocal Challenge #200, I believe this composition should be a good entry.

Humour is a wonderful trait. Beyond what geneticists would tell us, that either you’re born with or you are not, that’s far from being the end of the story. Attitude is of most importance. A good disposition, just as much. When we are faced with an issue that could go either way, one will notice, in a moment of introspection, that it doesn’t have to be as serious as we may think it is, hence possibly leading to an argument.

We all can put on our humour hats sometimes. It won’t be long before we realise that, indeed, that behaviour will lead to a better outcome.

We are prone to react, and usually, we are emotionally involved in whatever our problem may be, and we tend to lash out, usually with no optimal endings.

Instead, if we took 5 seconds to breathe or think before reacting negatively, we’d be so much happier about ourselves and the results. Especially the results.

We cannot take everything lightly; some things are hard core, but that's a different story. We seem to prefer dissent, arguments, and fights. And we need to ask ourselves: why?

Aren’t we making ourselves more tense by making a simple matter worse by arguing?

Arguing and complaining are addictive by nature.

People get caught in the web of fight or flight more often than not, and by default. Worse, they do it without the need.

Try smiling more when you speak and choose a non-confronting attitude.

In Western nations, troubles with the heart are off the scale. So are blood pressure issues, cholesterol levels, ulcers, and the no-joke Big C. And that’s for starters. One thing is true: getting upset does us more harm than good. As a matter of fact, it does us no good at all.

A quick read on the web will tell us all we need to know about how bad it is—health-wise—for us to get upset. Even colloquialisms have always told the misleading story of losing one’s hair or going bald every time we lose our temper.

Cast a little humour instead. You’ll see the difference in people’s reactions almost immediately. People lower their guard and lower their defenses, too, as soon as they see a smile on someone’s face. We live in a tense world, so divided and polarised that it’s up to every one of us to make life better, healthier, and more balanced.

A harmonic society shouldn’t have to be a utopia or a fairy tale story. It could be our authentic story if we so prefer. We have everything to win and nothing to lose.

There will always be angry people, sick people, and folks with serious mental issues. We will always have autistic fellows who have to live with such an anomaly in their lives, and there’s nothing we can do, medically speaking, to ease their suffering. But we can always offer them a smile. It’s that simple, and it doesn’t cost a penny. You may think they don’t care, but believe it. They do.

It’s imperative that we use empathy at all times for the ones who aren’t as lucky as we are.

And there are many.

Some maybe won’t understand humour, or they won’t get your jokes, but everyone understands a smile. A true offering from the heart. A smile is like a flower being given. It’s not a weakness to show kindness. It’s the opposite. A joke, a smile, a friendly disposition, and a helpful attitude are successful against trouble times 99% of the time.

People are getting lonely; we lack trust. I get it. The world is a hard place, and everyone wants to have it their way. Some people are stubborn and think it’s their way or the highway, as the saying goes. Everyone has experienced betrayal or being lied to. It causes depression and anxiety in some individuals. Some hold grudges and feel left out, or that society has betrayed them too many times. Some don’t care about life any longer and stop believing and blaming everything and everyone around them.

But when we stop and think that they are also reacting, being in such a deep world of hurt, we understand the old premise of “cause and effect” and begin the healing process. We might not be able to change the world since there’s so much suffering going on, but we can do our small part, which, when examined, we see it’s not small at all.

It’s what could truly make the world a better place.

A joke, an act of compassion, or one smile at a time is a language we all can understand.

~o~