Everybody Has a Story!

"Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier."

I believe that every greeting should include a smile and every meeting should end with a smile.   There is always something happening in everybody's life and you never know what the story is behind the face you see in the street. 

 You don't know what happened to your neighbour this morning.  The bus driver may have received some tragic news yesterday.  The girl who serves you coffee may have broken up with her boyfriend last night.  The Public Servant's teenager may have run away from home last week.  The Receptionist may be struggling to pay rent this week.  The Teacher may have just missed out on that promotion.  The Bank Teller may have to attend a funeral in an hour.

There is a lot of sadness, tragedy, stress, anger and illness in the world.  People are affected and react in different ways.  People grieve in different ways.  Sometimes, they can't afford to take time off work to deal with their issues.  Others don't have a support network and are trying to cope on their own.

We can't always treat people with empathy because we don't know what their issue is.  How do we know that the stranger needs sympathy?  How can we tell that the gym instructor is lonely?

A smile costs nothing and a happy, positive attitude is easy to share.  

Who cares if you accidentally put a red sock in with your whites this morning?  It's not important that you spilt red wine on the carpet last night.  So what if you forgot to charge your mobile phone and the battery is flat?  Is it the end of the world if  your train was cancelled and the next one made you 10 minutes late for work?

Think about it ... is it so bad that you will still be talking about it as you sit in your rocking chair on the front verandah at the age of 90?  Don't sweat the small stuff and figure out what the small stuff is.

Make it your mission to bring a small piece of happiness to the people with whom you interact during your day.  Smile.  Laugh.  Crack a joke.  Use your manners and always say 'please' and 'thank you'.  Be patient in the queue, whether you are in the car or at the bank. 

Give yourself the power to make the world a happier place.  Happiness is contagious and it has the power to heal.  

I've always believed this, but even more-so now that I have my Boys at the Boat Ramp to help me start my day.

They are always smiling.  Always cracking a joke.  Greeting both friends and strangers with a smile at every opportunity.   There is no anger, no stress and no antagonism towards anybody.  

I look forward to seeing them every day and I know that I will leave them with a smile on my face.  That, in turn, makes me want to share my happiness with anybody who comes near me.  

If everybody with whom I come into contact,  gets to share just a small degree of my happiness, and walks away with a smile,  then that makes me even happier!


Everybody has a story.  For those of us whose story is looking pretty good at the moment ... it's our responsibility to help improve somebody else's story, so spread the love!