WHAT'S IN A SMILE
Why do the smiles that we receive from strangers make us feel so good? Is it the fact that they are acknowledging our existenced, or just that they are courteous enough to do so?

Well, have you ever taken the time to really look at someone's smile, or more importantly, how fast their smiles drop as soon as they past you? I like to smile when I see co-workers, or strangers because I know that it makes them feel good, but when I smile, I like to make sure that it is genuine. I'm not one to smile just as I'm passing someone just because.....I like to smile if I mean it. If not, I may grin a little, but I don't over-do it.

But....there are lots of people, if not most of us, that do.

I really love people watching, and monitoring people's social behavior, and what I've noticed lately are the fake, or passing smiles that I receive daily. To clarify a little, what I mean when I say "passing" smiles, I mean those big bright, make you feel good smiles that you get when you're near, or passing someone, but, as soon as they are out of your sight, their faces drop as if you were never there. That is so fake and worthless to me, and that's why I ask, "What's in a Smile"?

Is a smile really worth it if it's not heart-felt?

If it's not real?

If it's just done until you're out of sight?

For me, the answer is no.

I tend to smile at those I'm either happy to see, or that I may find cute ;-), but still, my smile is real. When I smile at someone, I usually hold it for a while...maybe out of habit, or out of pure consciousness, but that's just me. What I also do when I smile is look back at the person who just smiled at me to see if he, or she is still smiling, and often times, they are not and that just kills my "happy" mood. It pretty much makes me not want to smile, but then that defeats the whole purpose of being sociable, and that is something that we could all stand to be a little more of.

Everyone often seems to be either high stressed, or too caught-up in work or their own social agendas to where all we can do is try to smile, and continue to move on. It's a feeble attempt at being polite, but without that fake passing smile, where would we be?

These are just my thoughts on how people interact and although they seem to be weak at best, I guess it's better than nothing. So, what does a smile mean to you?