Smiling vs. smiling

If you're like me and you don't smile often, you may look back and think about times when people have told you to smile. It's important to smile, they say. What am I smiling at? I often heard about 'faking it to you make it'. Smile at yourself in the mirror, think of a happy moment and other kinds of general advice.

I've been practicing gratitude on the daily, in the morning. I admit it's quite difficult to practice gratitude for something new every single day. True gratitude is deep, it is conjured through living in a state of appreciation. These feelings, unless trained in for a long time, do not arise suddenly by saying 'thank you'. It's like asking 'how are you?' and the other instantly replies 'good'. Words are being thrown around with no meaning or heart. Nothing good comes quickly. Hollow victories do not last as they are not intertwined with true character and action.

As I write this, I'm grateful that despite a rather distracting weekend, I managed to pull through on my commitments such as work and training. Looking back to last year, I was a COMPLETELY different person on the other end of the see-saw. And here it is. From thinking about pulling through on my commitments and thinking about being grateful, more gratitude flowed out. I thought back to 2021, December that year and how much progress I have made. By no means am I anywhere near where I want to set my roots, if I ever will... Gratitude is focus, you need to get into the frame of mind, sit with it and commit to it. Feelings of gratitude is a byproduct. Everything real requires work. Of course habit will make it flow more naturally. Nonetheless, like my previous post, we need to protect the mind by practicing good habits and steering clear/being mindful of things that may distract us.

Anyway. Through gratitude and staying present, you will naturally begin to radiate more positive energy. This is a product of habit. Those who smile or laugh out of habit to be 'polite', are not living in genuine positivity. Often this is spurred by anxiety in social settings and if you look past into their eyes or feel their energy, they are not as happy as they seem. I found true happiness and resulting real smiles and gratitude through hard work. Your achievements, like climbing to the top of a steep mountain, will give you that endorphin rush with a strong feeling of accomplishment and fulfillment. Don't practice a smile, live the smile. Partake in moments that will genuinely make you smile. Sit with that feeling and try to replicate that. But of course, don't chase smiling all the time. You can smile genuinely because most of the times, we don't smile. It's in the contrast and the see-saw of life; our defining moments.