His Mysterious Smile
There are only a few men I can think of that have a natural smile on their face even when no one is looking at them. Two right off hand and they are Richard Gere and the Dalai Lama. Now everyone already knows Richard Gere is just getting more gorgeous as the years go by so I don’t have to explain why his face comes to mind and the Dalai Lama although not exactly a “hunk” has an amazingly peaceful hint of a smile even when he is listening intently to whomever is talking. Both have that je n’aise qua. That something intriguing about them (and I hadn’t thought of it till just now but the fact that they’re both Buddhist has nothing to do with my little post here).
I hadn’t really given this smile-on-your-face thing much consideration until I was on the city limo (thebus.org) the other day and just hapened to look at the driver. This driver had the most pleasant relaxed look on his face with just a hint of a smile. While he drove down Waialae Avenut onto King Street I glanced over (okay maybe more than a glancing moment) to see if the was still smiling or if I had just caught hime as he thought of something nice. Nope, sure enough his face was just set in a beautiful, mysterious smile. It made me think briefly about the paintiung odf the Mona Lisa. What was she thinking? What was he thinking?
There are many things a nice smilke is good for. In marketing if a salesperson asks you if you want the gorgeous diamond earrings to go with that stunning solitare necklace you just decided to buy and he asks you with a smile on his face and even a slight nod of his head while asking you – BAM you’ve just been upsold BY A SMILE. Or what if your wife asks you to come in to the other room to show you something are you more inclined to get out of your big fat comfy football chair if she’s smiling in a beguiling demure sort of way or if she just shouts from the other room “hey, come heah for I can show you da kine.” Right… you’d pick the enticing smile wouldn’t you?
When I was first starting out in the business workd there was a lot being said about whether you should smile or not when giving a presentation Many thought that if you smiled people would not take you as serious as you wantt=ed them to, especially if you were a woman. They also taught us women to shake hands “like a man” so you would give the impression you were strong and not weak. (Tell me that wasn;t sexist.) But things have changed and as society has loosened up quite a bit over the last 20 years or so a smile is now regarded as a positive asset when speaking. I’s understood as an indication that you like what you are talking about or what you believe in. Sort of a non verbal affirmation.
It’s said that it takes more muscles in your face to frown than it does to smile. I beg to differ because when I rest my face it doesn’t relax into a natural smile. (Maybe that’s just because of gravity. Who knows,) But when I remember to smile or i’m smiling because I’m enjoying something, other people start smiling too.
What’s the point of all I’ve said? Well, first of all maybe you will catch yourself smiling while doing something you enjoy and maybe, just maybe, someone else will catch a glimpse of you doing it and it will make them smile too. Or maybe you’ll remember to smile when you ask that special someone to do something for you (like take out the trash). Maybe you’ll just remember to smile and preople will hear it in your voice and they will smile also. It is contageous you know.