Towards the end of the day a few weeks ago I was aimlessly scrolling through Instagram posts (officially called a brain break) and one caught my eye. Just a square with a solid background and the question, āWhat made you smile today?ā
I froze…literally nothing came to mind. Thatās an easy question, right? Tons of things should have sprung to mind, but I drew a blank. Frankly it was a disconcerting, kinda Twilight Zone feeling…surely there was something? Anything? Ā Nothing leapt out at me. I began the mental backtracking of my day. These emails, those meetings, more phone calls, lunch with the guys. Any of that considered smile material? None of it was unpleasant. No raging emergencies, no office drama on record for the day, no traffic jerks. Ā In fact, there werenāt any ābadā moments that leapt to mind either. But sad to say, nothing I could think of in that moment triggered the āahaā reflection.
So as I buttoned up my coat to dutifully walk my dog and try to get in those New Year Resolution FitBit steps, I couldnāt drop the question. It was going to eat at me.
Walk and Reflect
The cold robbed my breath as I stepped out into the dark nightā¦.and looked upā¦.and smiled. There in the cold crisp night sky was the light show of the new year. A moon three days past its ripest moment, and a dazzling display of twinkling stars that put any Christmas display to shame. And I smiled.
As I walked I considered the day I apparently had experienced on auto pilot. The sweet text I had received about 8:30, why didnāt that come to mind when the question grabbed my attention? The call from a friend who wanted to do some community good and was ready to team up on an effort. That was smile worthy. The camaraderie of good work partners is something to celebrate with a smile. Just the thought of precious family is a smile at the ready.
Eventually, I rounded the corner to complete the walk, and there was a well lighted, warm home inviting me to enter. The dog Iād walked was nothing less than part of my family, loyal and companionable. Other family living nearby, healthy and happy.That text, someone who means so much to me. That friend, someone I can count on for years now. What is there NOT to smile about?
Living on Autopilot
All I could conclude was that I had spent a day doing exactly what I want to escape: living shallow, living rote, and living without being tuned in to the unique experiences that weave together my day. I donāt want to be that person; really who does? But I wasnāt making the necessary adjustments in my awareness to be more present and appreciative in the moment. I wasn’t consciously acknowledging the joy, the smile, the gifts.
Changing habits and thought patterns, much as Iād like to think it would, wasn’tĀ going to happen without intent and continuous effort. With that in mind, I pulled out my copy of The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin for a refresher. I had read this several years ago, but apparently it didn’t stick as well as I had hoped.Ā
So the effort began, with small, baby steps maybe, but deliberate and consistent. Every day, what made me smile. And I ask you, what made you smile today?
Well I am glad I came across my daughter’s video record. She was dancing at the music while she was eating. What a joy to see her toddler year memories.
it is so important to remember to smile over the smallest things, like today I was driving and I have no idea how I got lost and ended up in traffic and I ended up laughing, blasting music and just making the best of the situation. working out totally made me smile, I haven’t been as active as I like to be since my recent move and it felt amazing.
Kids say the silliest things sometimes. But those are the things that give me the ha ha moments.
Kids are definitely what makes me smile! Stop, listen, and laugh!
The start up of the real spring weather in the city and taking advantage of time! Sometimes itās hard to stop and think about the good around you with our daily routines.
Beautiful weather makes me smile, and the extra hour of daylight gives me time after work to enjoy!
This was such a refreshing post. I cooked breakfast for my grandmother and served it to her in bed. She was super happy and it made me smile too. Thanks for the reminder to be grateful.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read! Your grandmother is blessed to have your loving care!
My kids made me smile today! I had to be at church early and a friend picked them up and dropped them off at church. They were all dressed and in good spirits when I went to check on them in their classes. As hard as I am on them, they are good kids and become more and more responsible every day.
Good kids are always smile worthy! They are pure joy!
Love this! How important it is to pause… a life on autopilot is no life at all!
This definitely got me to thinking… while today has overall been good, I had a hard time thinking back to smiles as well.
But the day is young! And I will be much more conscious in the next 9 hours before bed to notice the moments when a smile reaches my face. š
Hope you found lots to smile about the in those 9 hours!
We all fall into these ‘traps’ of daily life. It is so easy to focus on the ‘rush’ of the day instead of the ‘smiles’ of the day.
Today I woke up with a headache and an unwillingness to do much. However, I pre-paid for a 5k so I wasn’t going to ‘lose’ my hard earned dollar. What made me smile today? Being surrounded by running friends, not giving up on running the 5k and finishing with a time only 1 second off from my 5k yesterday. Life is good – 15 races in for the year! Enjoy every day!
I’m a runner too, but lately I’ve been lagging, lacking motivation. You’ve encouraged me to get back on my game! And 15 races in for the year already is HUGE smile worthy!
Great reminder to enjoy life rather than have life run by us on auto pilot! I, too, enjoyed Happiness Project. My smile this morning was waking up without an alarm clock and enjoying coffee on my back porch without having to rush anywhere. š
Lawd, Lawd, I wish I didn’t need an alarm clock to wake up smiling!! But any morning in the back porch slow lane is a definite smile starter day!
Wow, what made me smile today? As I was reading this I wondered if you were going to ask that question at the end. When you did I too started to analyze my day. Church always makes me smile but its the little moments when Iām taking notes that jump out at me. When Ive been working though something and the pastor says exactly the words Ive needed to hear, I smile at that. I smile when I drink Coffee, because why not? I smile I get new followers. I smile when I feel accomplished. I try my best to smile at Life. Loved this post!!!!!
Thanks for reading! I smiled when I read your comments! And every little accomplishment in the beginning stages of blogging is definitely a smile and a celebration!