The look

We were on our way to a town about 30 km away to run an errand. As it often happens with us, I stayed in the car while my husband ran to the pharmacy to do the shopping. So, there I was, sitting in the passenger seat of our parked car, looking at the surroundings and passing the time by watching the people walking past our car on the sidewalk.

Then it happened: As I looked at a young woman walking past me, our eyes met. I smiled at her and she smiled back in the friendliest way. It was just a moment, a moment so brief that it could seem insignificant. What does a glance from a stranger mean to me? I will probably never see the young lady again and even if I did, I would probably not recognize her.

And yet I found this moment infinitely precious: Two strangers who were suddenly connected by a benevolent look. Somehow it touched me deeply that day. I was moved by the way a smile from me made the person I didn’t know smile back at me. And this radiance in turn did me an incredible amount of good – in a place where I didn’t know anyone. It touched me so deeply that I still remember it today, months later.

 

In general, I discovered for myself how valuable it is not to look at people with a frown, but with a friendly smile.

It’s always exciting to see what a difference it can make in encounters. Certainly not always, because there are also hard-boiled people whose mouth corners turn downwards on principle. But in many other moments, it changes the atmosphere in a matter of seconds if I smile at the other person instead of looking at them with a gloomy or indifferent expression. It certainly brightened up my heart on our trip to the city on that day.

 

A cheerful look brings joy to the heart; good news makes for good health. Proverbs 15:30 (©NLT)