I drove past Peter, our local lollypop man just the other day, and as I smiled and waved at him, I was reminded of the times when I drove my son, Martin, to school.
We played a game with each other to brighten up the day, and it was especially useful when we had that ‘end of summer, start of school again’ feeling.
It’s very simple and easy to play. All we did was this: if we saw someone without a smile, we’d give them one of ours!
Then we collected the smiles given back to us. The streets were full of other parents taking their kids to school, often rushing as fast as they were able, and as they passed in front of the car, we would give them a smile and count the number we got back. I think our record was five!
The morning I saw Peter, I drove on past him and stopped at the traffic lights at Niddrie, thinking about how sad and unkempt the place appears now. I was sidetracked from this morose thought when a good song came on the radio and I turned up the volume and danced with the wheel.
Then someone really put a smile on my face. A man crossing the road stopped and started dancing with me, and then we both burst out laughing. He gave me a thumbs up, I returned the gesture and we went on our separate ways, still laughing.
We often talk about how hard we work, sometimes we might talk about making memories that last a lifetime and creating great legacies.
And sometimes, just every now and then, we get the very thing we really need to thrive; a moment of connection with another person, laughter. A gentle reminder that now is all there is, to take time to look around and enjoy who we’re with, where we are and what we’re doing.
It was such a fantastic, spontaneous piece of fun, that connected me for that moment with someone I didn’t know and we both went on feeling so much better for having shared our laughter. I say that when you next see someone without a smile, make it a practice to give them one of yours!
School’s Back, Time for the Happy Game!
I drove past Peter, our local lollypop man just the other day, and as I smiled and waved at him, I was reminded of the times when I drove my son, Martin, to school.
We played a game with each other to brighten up the day, and it was especially useful when we had that ‘end of summer, start of school again’ feeling.
It’s very simple and easy to play. All we did was this: if we saw someone without a smile, we’d give them one of ours!
Then we collected the smiles given back to us. The streets were full of other parents taking their kids to school, often rushing as fast as they were able, and as they passed in front of the car, we would give them a smile and count the number we got back. I think our record was five!
The morning I saw Peter, I drove on past him and stopped at the traffic lights at Niddrie, thinking about how sad and unkempt the place appears now. I was sidetracked from this morose thought when a good song came on the radio and I turned up the volume and danced with the wheel.
Then someone really put a smile on my face. A man crossing the road stopped and started dancing with me, and then we both burst out laughing. He gave me a thumbs up, I returned the gesture and we went on our separate ways, still laughing.
We often talk about how hard we work, sometimes we might talk about making memories that last a lifetime and creating great legacies.
And sometimes, just every now and then, we get the very thing we really need to thrive; a moment of connection with another person, laughter. A gentle reminder that now is all there is, to take time to look around and enjoy who we’re with, where we are and what we’re doing.
It was such a fantastic, spontaneous piece of fun, that connected me for that moment with someone I didn’t know and we both went on feeling so much better for having shared our laughter. I say that when you next see someone without a smile, make it a practice to give them one of yours!
I do, and I always get more back than I give.
Have fun today.
Jane
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