Keep Smiling!

I was looking up a quotation in a book called “How Shall I Say It” for a piece that I was writing and when I opened this book up, I realized it had belonged to my grandfather, and the author of the book had written an inscription to my grandfather in here.

The author, Ross Stover, was a Temple University professor in public speaking and a local pastor, and he wrote to my grandfather, “To Mr. Max Leon, one of my dearest friends, god bless you, keep smiling.” And I thought what a wonderful way of ending an inscription, to remind someone to keep smiling.

It is so interesting how smiling affects us and other people.

We tend to smile when we see someone smiling.

There are studies about how smiling helps improve our mood by sending signals to the brain that we should be happy and even people seeing the word smile will start to unconsciously process that and smile in return.

As I read a little bit more into the book and about Ross Stover’s background, it was interesting that the nickname for the church where he was a pastor, was the friendly church.

Reflecting on the inscription from Ross Stover to my grandfather, ‘god bless you, keep smiling,’ what are some small gestures or reminders in your own life that bring you joy and encourage you to keep smiling, even during challenging times?

And, more generally. how do you incorporate smiling into your daily routine, whether it’s through interactions with others, self-care practices, or moments of gratitude?”