Today is day 10 of Campaign Smile. This morning I really felt like the smiles were starting to gravitate to me. How amazing to feel that. I took a quick trip to the library to drop off a book.
1. As I walked up to the dropoff drawer I passed a man walking a small dog. I smiled at him and, though he did not return the smile, he wished me a good morning. While it wasn’t specifically a smile it certainly fell into the category of spreading positive thoughts and emotions.
2. When I turned back to return to my car I smiled toward a moderately young woman who did not have a smile to give. I just hope whatever was preventing her good mood left soon after that.
3. Immediately after that I walked by a pregnant woman who gifted me a great smile. What better present for her to pass to her unborn child than keeping herself in a good mood to keep the child’s “home” a pleasant place to reside.
4. An older woman pulling a small wheeled cart with books approached me next and happily returned my smile with a broad one of her own.
5. The last person I passed before I reached my car was an older woman who responded to my smile campaign with something of a half smirk. I don’t know if that is the closest she comes to a smile in general or if it was just as close as she could get at that point in her day but I was happy to receive it either way. With all this activity during a quick walk from the car to the building and back you can see why I felt it was drawn to me.
6. Later in the day I stopped at Kohl’s for a little more campaigning. I took a quick walk around the store but I had several more opportunities to engage people for this day. A woman pushing a stroller was the first to receive my gift of a smile. Her face seemed to be fighting against itself as it seemed to be trying to both perse the lips and smile at the same time. The smile side won out enough for me to count it. Besides, even if I only convinced half of her to be more positive it is bound to help the whole.
7. I met a man with two young girls after that. He nodded a greeting to me when I smiled though he did not reciprocate. That’s another one for the no smile, positive impact category.
8. A man in his early twenties was shopping with a young woman as I passed by. My smile to him only prompted a look, no smile. That is another one that will pay dividends later for him and the world.
9. As I was leaving the store a young girl stood in the aisle and stared boldly at me. I returned her stare with a smiling look but she did not look away or change expression. Apparently, I was so fascinating she was speechless. Campaign numbers for the day: 9 attempts, 2 non-smile positive effects, 4 smiles. Two thirds of the people I interacted with received an immediate psychological and emotional boost today. That brings the smile total to 36!
Campaign Smile 