A smile is happiness we could find right under our nose. Sometimes, we have to smile to hide our fears and laugh to hide our tears. A smile is a gift we can give for free, but the rewards are priceless, both to the giver and receiver.

Smiling is good for the heart. Laughing is good for the soul and loving will keep us living, laughing, and smiling. Keep smiling and one day life will get tired of upsetting us.

I have learned that too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

I have also learned that a strong and resilient person smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection; that after every storm the sun smiles; that for every problem there is a solution, and the soul's unavoidable duty is to be of good cheer.

Let us try hard to make our soul smile through our heart and our heart smile through our eyes, that we may scatter rich smiles in sad hearts.

Smiling is contagious. Encouraging others is something each of us can give. Somebody might need what we could give. It might not be our money; it might be our time, our listening ear, our arms to encourage; it might be our smile to uplift. Who knows? We might take away all the other luxuries in life, but if we could make someone smile and laugh, we have given the most special gift: HAPPINESS.

By Tim Pedrosa

Tim