March 11th, 2023

In America…

A Smile As An Act Of Service, Not As An Act

I have closely watched people in public spaces the past two years. Smiles are hard to come by. The natural friendliness and overall good-naturedness I historically associated with being American, subdued.

It is understandable. The pandemic, divisive politics, leaders lacking dignity and social media funneling us further from truth and closer to the breaking point has taken its toll. We are weary and wary. Our smiles fewer and farther between.

For a moment, I would like to set aside natural smiles—the kind that bubble up from the inside and take over our face before we know it. Instead I want to focus on a second kind of smile, the ones we flash whether we feel like it or not. It is here I see opportunity for a paradigm shift.

There has been an interesting and evolving attitude about this second kind of smile. A sense that to smile when you don’t feel it is false. A show. That fake it until you make it causes more harm than good. Better and more authentic to wear your misery or apathy on your face.

But what if we made it less about ourselves and more about others?

What if we chose to smile as an act of service? In service to those in our immediate midst, in service to our country. What if we chose to elevate every situation with an ear to ear offering? To help another person, to bring back friendliness and good energy and optimism?

What if we taught this and lived this: I smile for you—for family, friend, stranger, country.