The pluses of smiling even when we don't feel like it..........

To smile, or not to smile, that's the question.

Well, not really, but according to some, smiling is

good for us.

It can lower blood pressure, improve immune

function and activate the release of neuropeptides.

In many cultures, although not all, a smile is often interpreted

as an outer expression of an inner state of mind.

( happiness, contentment, friendliness, openness, etc.)

''Smile, and the whole world smiles with you.''

(Stanley Gordon West)

''The shortest distance between two people is

a smile." (African proverb)

Some say that smiling is often contagious; when someone

''throws'' us a smile, we feel inclined to smile back.

I have read somewhere that it is called a ''positive feedback

loop'', and has to do with our ''mirror neurons''.

(Seeing someone smile stimulates our mirror neurons to

 suppress our facial muscle control, and before we know

it, we have smiled back.)

It is of course possible to ''fake'' a smile and many of us

probably often do so for a myriad of different reasons:

Embarrassment for example:

 "I didn't get the joke but I smiled anyway as if I got it.''

Fear: ''I wanted to seem confident so I smiled.''

Wanting to be accepted: ''People are often drawn to friendly people

so I smiled to come across as an open and friendly person.''

Can't find the right words to say: ''I didn't know what to say so

 I just nodded my head and smiled.''

To hide our true feelings: ''I felt hurt by what was said

but I didn't want others to know it, so I smiled instead.''

Charlie Chaplin sang in his song ''Smile'': ''Smile tho' your heart is

aching, smile even tho' it's breaking....etc., then concluded the song

with ''you'll find that life is worthwhile if you just smile.''

That's putting a lot of faith in the power of a smile!!

It can be tempting to suggest to someone to ''smile'' if they

look or seem a bit ''down'', but in my experience it is seldom

helpful, on the contrary, it often tend to make the other person

less inclined to smile.

A smile, although an outer expression, comes from within. 

Smiling is (so they say) a natural human response to feelings of

contentment, joy, happiness, etc. but, in many different positions

of employment (any kind of service orientated work),

smiling is also a required social ''tool''.

So, here is some good news:

Whether we smile because our

job requires it or because we feel happy-ish, feel-good

neurotransmitters will swirl about and that often

tend to brighten our mood.

"If you smile, 

not because you have to but because you chose to,

feel-good little neurotransmitters

will definitely help you.''

(Citizen Z)

ps: about the painting. Put your finger over the mouth on the painting

and the smile is gone. It becomes a totally different painting, in my view,

 a much more ''dark'' one. When we smile because we feel good, 

we smile not only with our mouths, but also with our eyes.