The Magic of Smiles

The other day I was at an event with a group of soon-to-be graduating college kids. I always enjoy being around young people to get an appreciation of how they view the world as their future is uncertain yet hopeful.

During one of the discussions, we talked about the challenges of talking to prospective employers. And the fear some of the students felt asking questions.

I tried to explain how most people want to help. And how tonight there were several people like me (older, more experienced, in positions of authority, etc.) and we were easy to talk with.

In fact, we came out to this event just to talk to students. And all we asked for in return are smiles.

You can’t pay these volunteers enough to get them to come out and sit down with a group of strangers. The joy of giving can really only be repaid with smiles.

And that got me thinking about how different the world would be if we used smiles as a form of currency. A joyful currency that doubles when it’s given.

Every time you smiled and felt joy, you added to your account. When you smiled at someone and they felt joy, they would be a little bit wealthier.

Many times I smile all by myself. As I recall something pleasant or I look forward to something turning out the way I’d like it to, a smile just seems to happen. That would add to my account as well.

Today with money as our currency, we have to work to get more of it. What if instead, we got to play to receive smiles and joy?

You might be thinking, “but Peter, you can’t eat joy.” But you can’t eat money either. We’ve just all agreed to trade things for money. Why not joy?

As you know, some things in life are priceless. I feel it’s time we valued those priceless things higher than money and let smiles and joy be reflections of our wealth.