The power in a smile

Many of the less tangible acts of a human being have more effect than visible gross actions. That is the case of a smile.

If you want to understand its impact, just imagine for a moment a shop where its salespeople NEVER smile. Compare its sales with another similar shop, but where its salespeople are normally smiling. No need to say the last will have better results in their tasks.

Why? What is in a smile that makes things different?

There would be many points of view to respond to that, but we could just say there are four things we can learn about the power in a smile. Four things we can replicate in our lives, in other areas besides smiling.

1. It is born from within. Smiles don't come from facial exercises. You cannot bully your face to smile! It has to come from inside, from a deep perception of the world around you. It is a decision that changes your perspective.
2. It only works if it is genuine. The former point means that if you don't feel, you won't smile. Or at least your smile won't have the same power. Authenticity is the key.
3. Smiling keeps your balance. Human balance comes from a constant need to recover. Even when we walk, our balance comes after we have one foot only on the floor... When you smile, you send a message to yourself saying "everything is alright". Then, you start to work things out so they do become OK.
4. Winning others' hearts. When you smile, you generate a different energy. You tell others your doors are open for them and you invite them to your life. Smiles are a must if you need to create, sustain or heal a relationship.

So, what are you waiting for? Just smile...

Balance between being serious and having humor

Let's face it; probably the Friends theme song has it clear: always stuck in second gear... OK, not always, but a good amount of our time on this planet passes by trying to solve a problem, recovering from a situation or preparing the self for something that is coming.

Reality makes us crying and laughing at alternative times. But there is a secret behind: even the worse problems exist to make us all better.

This is why it is important to live life fully, without complaints or regrets, just enjoying whatever is coming. After all, everything turns to be good...

How to do it? Here is a trick that can help many people. Just use humor more and more.

It is true many times we have to be serious and solve situations with a sober mind. It is true we have to solve situations without a smile. It is true sometimes we have to be very stern with other people.

But it is also true most of the times we can make a joke. It is true we can smile even in front of tragedies, knowing we are strong enough to tolerate them. It is true we can use humor to deflect sadness; after all, being sad does not help to solve anything.

A balance between both will help us to overcome all obstacles that come on our way.

A better world

Everything we do is related to a better world we want to create. When we build a new building, a house or just take a child to a school, our best hopes is that will create a better world.

Of course, a better world will have economy, social structure and science operating. It is part of human civilization to have a culture, customs and ideas to share among all. That means to create a better world is to create a better economy, a better social structure, a better science, better culture, better customs and better ideas...

The implication is that it is something difficult, even impossible. As an individual I can't see how I am contributing for that, we can never forget the effect we have on each other. In a subtle and obvious way, we influence others through our behavior, reaction, gestures, ideas, thoughts, vibrations, feelings and words. In this way, we help direct others towards a better world, or to remain in this old and worse world (after all, that is the implication of creating a better world...).

I feel personally that all of us could be in heaven right now. If we share what we have, if we help each other... but then I remember the only thing I can do is to create a better me and I start doing all of that.

Yes, a better world won't be created by a coup d'état or some marvelous invention. Many better people working with that aim in mind, they will generate a better world.

So, why not starting right now? From your mind and thoughts, from your vibration and feelings, from a smile and a phone call to someone, from recycling and using resources in a better way... We can start right now. I, you, can start right now.

Let's do it.

Trust that inner voice

There are things nobody can really explains, like that feeling someone is watching you and they are, or somebody needs your help and you are able to guess it. Or that inner voice that starts to talk to you...

Scientists perhaps will tell you it is all part of brain science, or brain game. But, is it? I am sure most people have an inner voice that warns them something is odd, wrong or simply reminds them of their own values when they face a challenge.

In fact, it is part of being human: we were born without many survival instincts, very different from the rest of the species with which we share this beautiful planet. Instead, we were born with a set of values and principles, an inner sense of ethics that enables us to walk around this world without getting lost.

But, different from our brothers and sisters from other species, we can chose to listening to this inner voice. We can chose to follow a specific path or just go the other way.

And that power of election can make wonders... It brings a sense of pride when we hear about the sacrifices someone can make to other people, even when they are unknown and unrelated to them.

But that same power of election has brought us into a very complicated situation with corruption, terrorism and other evils attacking our civilization as never before.

It is time to refine our inner ears and pay more attention to what we are telling ourselves to do. And chose with that wonderful sense we all have, letting our ethics be higher than our desires or limited aims that come on our way.

Maybe that will prevent at least a part of what is happening now. Maybe that will allow the best of us to spread all over the world, enabling a better world to be created.

Always moving forward...

No matter how many or what kind of obstacles, we have to keep moving forward.

Not because someone is pushing us or we are told to do. Not because it is a natural instinct or it is a cultural feature.

We are moving forward because we understand.

Understanding is the basis of growth anywhere you look at. It is more than knowledge as it implies its application too. When we understand, then we move forward with a reason in life.

A human with an aim is unstoppable. A human without an aim... well, good luck for that!

My main concern is however how we are moving forward. In the past, we as civilization used to give emphasis to aspects more related to ethics than to the form, shape and image, as we are probably doing now. That creates an inner pressure that comes from the struggle between the ethos and the pathos, which is under the easy influence of environment.

Success is a good measure for that. It is natural, it comes when time comes and it always comes. But, in the present we want our moving forward to be measured by our own success.

And yes, there is a task's success - that is natural, it is what we aim for. But success as a whole thing, as that for which we are all looking forward to experience does not come from a task, a job or a book. It comes from a whole life, and a whole life is made by small steps, always moving forward.

By wanting success now we are breaking a subtle law of nature and we start to be under the influence of external circumstances. Irony is that by wanting success early, we miss it when it really comes as it finds us tired of so many struggles.

So, let's all move forward, but let's move from inside, from a deep perspective and in a way that is worthwhile.