Smile All The Way

Most of us have travelled by car or bus on the inter-state roads. The milestones, besides being indicative of the distance to be covered, are also a subject of curiosity for children. Vicky was travelling with his parents to his grandma’s home. He was sitting in the back seat. His baby sister slept blissfully beside him in her little carry cot. He felt very important that he was in charge of her while Mama sat in the front with Dad. He asked Dad, “How far is it now, Dad?” Dad said, “Another eighty miles Sonny. “Eighty! Oh! That’s a lot!”

Vicky rolled down the window on his side and smiled at the people in the countryside. He smiled every time a car crossed them from the opposite side. He smiled at people who overtook them too. After a while his little sister woke up. He played with her, he shook the rattle for her and they laughed together.

Soon it grew dark; they could barely see the people in the adjacent fields. Vicky asked, “Dad, how much time will we take to get there?” Dad said, “Just, another ten minutes and we’ll be there.” Vicky looked at the people in the streets as they entered the city. He smiled happily at every one they crossed.

Soon their car pulled into the driveway at grandma’s house. Vicky said, “Oh Dad! I still have one more smile to give, how did we reach before that?”

Dad asked, “You have one more smile to give? What’s that supposed to mean?” Vicky looked at him sombrely and said, “I asked you how far we had to go and you said, ‘Eighty smiles’; I smiled at every one we crossed on the way. I have smiled at 79 people since then. I still have one smile to go. So, how did we reach before that?”

Dad was at a loss for words. He looked at his four year old son, stupefied. “I said eighty miles son and you heard eighty smiles! No wonder you have been smiling at all and sundry on the way. I did notice, but I never gave it a second thought”. Just then Grandma opened the door and Vicky smiled his eightieth smile! They hugged and laughed together.

Well, that was forty years ago! Before Dad passed away, this is the last thing he said to Vicky, “Keep smiling, just as you did when you were four! I learnt this valuable lesson from you my son. Thank you for teaching me how to smile through life.”

Today Vicky is forty-four and he continues to smile at every stranger he crosses by, for he learnt at the tender age of four that smiling can be a pleasant way to spend a journey. In the course of life, he learnt that it’s also a great way to make friends. As he grew older, he learnt that smiling is contagious; if you smile at another, the other person smiles back at you, more often than not! So by making someone smile, you make this world a happier place. Incidentally, it is also an inexpensive way to improve your looks!

Do you know what a SMILE is?
It is a Simple Method of Invoking Love Echoes!

Hey! If you are smiling while reading this, then do keep smiling, for who knows, someone may just be falling in love with your smile!