A Pandemic of Happiness

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”

― Thích Nhất Hạnh

I’m a cautious greeter when I’m running. Oh put me in a social setting and I’ll be smiling and Hello-ing till the cows come home, but when I run, I’m cautious.

Why? I don’t know. I always acknowledge the person coming towards me, a cursory nod, a slight smile that says ‘yeah, that we’re both hauling ass around the waterfront, I can’t wait till it’s over either’’ especially if you see the same person multiple times.

But today, a woman ran by me with a grin on her face, yes a full grin, and she beamed out a bubby “ HI!’’ to me, such that I thought I must know her. I didn’t but I did smile back, like, really smile.

Gee that felt good! Buoyed by this surge in endorphins, I decided for the remainder of my run to effusively acknowledge people coming past me.

First was another woman running, she had headphones in and smiled back but seemed a little pre-occupied (I don’t run with headphones btw, I find they make it hard to be ‘in the moment’). Next was an elderly man who looked deep in thought and very serious, “ Good Morning!” I announced with a large smile, he looked up and I swear he just lit up: it was remarkable! I was rather enjoying this now, a lady with a dog smiled back, a chap running did too, two old ladies and a Chihuahua  chorused ‘Good Morning!’ back to me, one young lad gave me a wide berth- but he got smiled at all the same.

I think I used to do this more but I’ve gotten slack: I’d forgotten how easy it is to lift your mood by trying to lift someone else’s. Maybe I took it personally when I didn’t get a smile back, or too preoccupied with the thoughts in my head to notice other people. You can never really know the burden someone is carrying but a gentle reminder that they’re not alone in the world can go a long way. It is true that we’re often so tied up with our own thoughts to notice what other people are doing, but I do wonder what would happen if we all smiled a little more. We may have no idea what is going in someone’s life but a smile certainly never did any harm (well, unless you crack one when your mum is telling you off, or you’re having a passport photo taken.) It also makes you feel damn good. I will from now on, be smiling at will. Even when I’m going uphill (physically or metaphorically) I shall smile all the harder. Lighting up your face ignites a light in someone else, its literally contagious. Imagine if we could start a pandemic of happiness! 

Oh goodness, I think I’m coming down with something!

See if you can catch it too.