Spreading Smiles...

Hanging around, just chilling at a friends house last night, one would never expect to have a profound realization… and not that it was some new unheard of school of thought, yet more of a gentle reminder and an inspiration to BE BETTER, and how easy it truly is to do. I am in the other room, unengaged, but listening to a friend tell a story. He probably doesn’t even realize in this moment that his words of truth spoke into someone’s heart - challenged someone to be better - to hold herself to a higher standard, because, why not? 
It’s one distinct moment in his story that catches my attention, and I hear, “She handed her that money and the woman smiled so big, and I thought, damn it, I could have been the one to make her smile that big, and I wasn’t, but I should have been”… And, he was serious… completely heart felt. This man, literally spends his days thinking of ways to make people smile. How amazing it this? And, it wasn’t like I didn’t “know” this, or experience it firsthand, but I just didn’t really ‘think’ about it… until that moment…. 
And I can’t help but ask myself, do I do this? How often? Daily? Hourly?Enough? Intentionally? Is it actually a conscious goal? I mean - I know I always love when I get to have a part in making someone’s day, bringing joy into someone’s life, lifting someone up, but I admit that I don’t often wake up and have my first thoughts to myself be, “How can I make someone smile today” and not one person, but many. 
And what if?!?! Just what if…. we ALL did that? What if we all woke up and set the intention to make someone else smile that day? Simply that - Instead of worrying about our crazy ‘busy’ lives and jam packed ‘to do’ lists… and our own needs… or what would make us smile… What if we truly woke up and set a daily goal to make someone else smile?!?! …How much more quality in life would we experience, and quality in others' lives could we impart? 
And I am not saying we forget about all the other stuff, because I understand its relevance in our success, commitments, and responsibilities, but what if we just pushed something ahead of these things, and allowed something so much more simple to take precedence, something that would not interfere with everything else... if anything it would just add more goodness into our day, more joy into our hearts, more smiles across our own faces?
I know a few people, when I think about it, who do this so well naturally, but for some, we have to be intentional...I know I personally do this often, but what my friend's story challenged me with, is that deeper level of awareness, recognizing missed opportunities that didn't have to be misses...So this is my challenge to myself…  to bring more awareness into my heart and mind… to wake up daily and set an intention to find those opportunities to make someone smile… to spread joy into another heart, to not pass them up… I hope that you will do the same! Its interesting, because it is often found in the most simple of tasks, and yet so meaningful... It can be so easy to do, yet so easy to forget.