Smile ... and HALF ... yes, just half the world ..... smiles with you!

Busy busy bumble bee!

Overcast skies ....

I’ve no idea who penned this quote but it’s been posted quite recently on FB and several of the other sites I visit ...... I love it because it’s so apt.  

“A smile can happen in a flash .... but it’s memory can last a lifetime!”

Sometimes all we need is a smile .... it can be the greyest of days .... like it has been today ... and that unexpected smile from a stranger can bring the sunshine flooding back in ... smiling is contagious .. it has a ‘halo’ effect .... we’re drawn to people who smile!

One of the most simple social pleasures of life, which goes almost unnoticed because it's automatic, is when you smile at someone and they smile back ... it leaves you with such a warm feeling inside.  There were several smiling humans and hounds on the beach today ... not many ... but even one human and hound was one more than yesterday!  I chatted to the gentleman who loves to kick the ball for Chocolat .... I chatted to the lady with the skittish boxer cross puppy ..... they were both smiling despite the greyness of the day.  As I kicked the ball for the hound and we ambled up and down the beach I couldn’t help noticing the smiles she
evoked as she gambolled gaily through the waves to retrieve her ball.  Her happiness is so contagious ... she smiles with her whole body ... bum waddle and all!

So what is it about smiling .. and being smiled at ... that’s so uplifting??  Why are we so attracted to people who smile and really mean it?

Heavy storm clouds over Brown Island

Bibi is 12 years old .. we met her and her human in Glover Park .. she was so friendly!

Psychological studies show that smiles are about much more than just showing pleasure .... yep ... I googled it ...... who would have guessed! In a world where everyone is out for themselves how do you know who to trust?

Genuine smiles send a message that we can be trusted ... people want to share with us.  This seems to work when we break the rules too as people who smile after breaking the rules are perceived to be more trustworthy than those who don’t!  

The wildflowers are all blooming in Glover Park at the moment
- a sure sign that summer's on its way!

So what else did I learn about
smiling ..... hmmm .... it reduces the stress of upsetting situations ... .... forcing a smile when you don’t feel like it is enough to lift your mood slightly ......  it’s called embodied cognition.  Smiling also increases our attention span and our ability to think holistically ... it really does give us that burst of insight!

Now this benefit really made me smile ... haha .... the smiles of a woman and the smiles of a man can have different results from a sexual perspective too.  It’s been shown that a woman’s smile has a magical effect on men .... as if we didn’t know that .... OVER and ABOVE eye contact.  While smiling increases women's attractiveness to men, it doesn't work so well the other way around .... less smiling makes a man look more masculine ....... bear that in mind guys!

My hound has an SA collar .. courtesy of my daughter!

Smiles have to be genuine though .. they have to reach the eyes ... smiling without the eyes being involved is like drinking a cup of coffee with no coffee in it .... it’s fake ... pretending to be something it’s not!  Waitresses who smile a lot .. genuine smiles that is ... make more in tips than waitresses that don’t - and again, there’s been a study done to prove that .. .no study done on waiters though!

If none of these benefits can coax a smile out of you then consider this ... a study carried out in 2010 revealed that people who smile more may live longer .... lowered blood pressure ... lowered stress levels .... ‘feel-good’ endorphins flooding the body!  Now there's a reason to smile!

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”
– Leo F. Buscaglia