World Smile Day

Each year on the first Friday of October, World Smile Day devotes a day to spreading random acts of kindness and smiles.

In 1963, Harvey Ball created the familiar yellow smiley face. He was a commercial artist from Massachusetts, and created the smiley face design for a State Mutual Life Insurance company campaign.

He aimed to spread goodwill and cheer throughout the world with his smiley face.

The Harvey Ball World Smile Foundation encourages people worldwide on World Smile Day to do an act of kindness and make at least one person smile.

Over the past 25 years they have hosted numerous unique events including, the world’s largest human Smiley face, balloon releases, choral performances, sidewalk chalk activities, college concerts, circus performers, and pie-eating contests.

You and I can also organize our own World Smile Day events and celebrate the day by:

• Doing a random act of kindness for someone.
• Using a smiley face emoji on every text you send.
• Spreading cheer by handing out smiley face stickers.
• Giving a smile to everyone you come across.
• Telling someone a funny joke.
• Playing happy songs like “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, or “Don’t Worry Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin.
• Taking a selfie of your own smile and sharing it on social media with the hashtag #WorldSmileDay.

Whatever you do, enjoy doing it and have an enjoyable day!

The thing is, if someone smiles at you, you’re bound to smile back. A smile often expresses a feeling, encouragement to someone, or serves as a greeting.

If you don’t smile enough today is the perfect day to start as there are many benefits to smiling:

It improves mood
It can help lower blood pressure 
It helps to relieve stress 
It boosts the immune system and can help to relieve pain 
It can assist in increasing life expectancy
It betters relationships

So, who wouldn’t want all these benefits? All it takes is smiling. And the more often we do it, the better!

Each year the World Smile Day site receive many requests for World Smile Day posters and stickers which they make available to download for free on the World Smile Day website.

You can also like or follow them on Facebook here where you can receive all the latest news and information from them and Ambassadors from all around the world directly to your newsfeed. They ask that you share their posts with your friends to help spread the word. 

A few years ago I received one of the World’s Most Difficult Jigsaw Puzzles which has the same Smiley Face image on both sides of the puzzle pieces.

Maybe I should dig it out and try doing it again over the weekend.  

Below are a number of quotes and a few images that will hopefully make you smile.

Blessings ’til next time 🙂 

 

“Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful.” –  Thich Nhat Hanh

“Share your smile with the world. It’s a symbol of friendship and peace.” – Christie Brinkley

“Smiling is definitely one of the best beauty remedies. If you have a good sense of humor and a good approach to life, that’s beautiful.” – Rashida Jones

“A simple smile. That’s the start of opening your heart and being compassionate to others.” – Dalai Lama

“What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life’s pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.” – Joseph Addison

“A smile is a friend maker.” – Bangambiki Habyarimana

“All the statistics in the world can’t measure the warmth of a smile.” – Chris Hart

“Your smile will give you a positive countenance that will make people feel comfortable around you.” – Les Brown

“How can you feel bad and smile simultaneously?” – Maxime Lagacé

“The living should smile, for the dead cannot.” – George R.R. Martin

“Smile! It increases your face value.” – Robert Harling

“Smile in the mirror. Do that every morning and you’ll start to see a big difference in your life.” – Yoko Ono

“Never regret anything that made you smile.” – Mark Twain

“Remember to smile.” – Nelson Mandela

“What’s the use of worrying? It never was worthwhile, so pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag, and smile, smile, smile.” – George Henry Powell

“Use your smile to change the world; don’t let the world change your smile.” – Chinese Proverb

“Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.” – John Lennon

“My children and my husband make me smile. My work makes me smile.” – Victoria Beckham

“A smile is happiness you’ll find right under your nose.” – Tom Wilson

“When you smile at a stranger, there is already a minute outflow of energy. You become a giver.” – Eckhart Tolle

“The teeth are smiling, but is the heart?” – African proverb

“If you’re reading this… Congratulations, you’re alive. If that’s not something to smile about, then I don’t know what is.” – Chad Sugg

“Sometimes we’re gonna have our bad days, but we must continue to work to be great. Keep smiling. It looks beautiful on you!” – Demi Lovato

“I’ve had to learn to fight all my life – got to learn to keep smiling. If you smile, things will work out.” – Serena Williams

“When someone is rude, keep a smile on your face. When you stay on the high road and keep your joy, you take away their power.” – Joel Osteen

“You’ll find that life is still worthwhile, if you just smile.” – Charlie Chaplin

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” – Leo Buscaglia

“Someday, everything will make perfect sense. So for now, laugh at the confusion, smile through the tears, be strong and keep reminding yourself that everything happens for a reason.” – John Mayer

“Among the things you can give and still keep are your word, a smile and a grateful heart.” – Zig Ziglar

And I’m sure that you could add many more besides in the comments 🙂

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Breathing Excercises

“Take a breath, take a deep breath now” might be some of the best advice ever written by David Gilmour almost 20 years ago. 

Years earlier he and his compatriots from Pink Floyd had written “Breathe, breathe in the air. Don’t be afraid to care.”   

Now I may be showing my age just a bit as that lyric from the iconic Dark Side of the Moon album was written over 50 years ago 🙂

The thing is, the importance of breathing is not something new, it has been around for eons – in fact since the beginning of time!

According to the Genesis account in the Bible, God breathed life-giving breath into Adam and he had life, a living being made in His image (Refer to Genesis 2:7). Without the air that we breathe on this planet we would all die.     

Therefore, it is not only an essential ingredient to life and living, it is the easiest and most effective way to relieve stress and to refocus our thoughts and mind on the things that really matter. 

When we take a slow inhalation of breath; breathing through the nose and then a big, long exhalation through the mouth, we’re signaling to the brain and body that we’re safe, that we are alive and that it’s okay to calm down. Within a matter of seconds, we start to feel more relaxed.

Most of us rarely, if ever need to think about breathing as it comes naturally and most of us don’t worry about the overall process of breathing. But learning to pay attention to our breath can improve how we feel and behave.

In the last few years or so, I’ve had to be especially vigilant about my breathing and the need to take a breath, as it is something that doesn’t come as easy as it once did. Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) does that 😦

I check my SpO2 levels twice daily to monitor any significant changes that may be happening in my lungs, watching for symptoms such as wheezing, shortness of breath, chest pain, fatigue and coughing.

You see, Scleroderma with associated ILD (Ssc-ILD) affects tissues around the airways, causing progressive scarring and this scarring causes the lungs to stiffen, and makes it harder to breathe. 

For those with breathing issues such as this it is often beneficial to take some time at the beginning of the day, or at the close of the day to slow down and focus on the air that we breathe. Not being afraid to care about oneself and breathing in the air slowly and then exhaling it, noticing any subtle changes, sounds etc. and the ease in which you are doing it.    

‘Slow Rhythmic Breathing’ helps us to regain a sense of calm.

So maybe you’d like to sit comfortably in a quiet space, with your back straight but not rigid, and your feet flat on the ground. Place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen.

Take a deep breath in, filling your abdomen with air first and then your chest. Hold for a count of three and exhale slowly, allowing your chest to deflate first and then your abdomen.

Repeat this process, focusing on your breath and making sure to inhale and exhale deeply and slowly, for a few minutes or until you feel calm and relaxed. Remember, exhale for longer than you inhale.

The thing is, taking a moment to focus on taking a breath has a flow on effect for our mental health too.

We all need to take time out every now and again and create breathing space in our everyday busy lives where we can focus on just being. Especially those of us with rare autoimmune disorders or diseases, chronic illnesses, invisible disabilities and mental health challenges.   

Last year as part of the RENEW: Scleroderma Fatigue Study facilitated by the University of Michigan I was introduced to some breathing exercises that have been designed to help a person relax.

I wrote a post entitled “Learn to Relax” a couple of months ago which gives some insights into why relaxation practices such as the above ‘slow rhythmic breathing’ are important. 

Maybe you would like to give ‘Deep Breathing’ or diaphragmatic breathing a go. This is a technique that helps you focus on your diaphragm, a muscle in your belly and it is sometimes called belly breathing, or abdominal breathing.

By training your diaphragm to open up your lungs you help your body breathe more efficiently. It has a variety of other benefits and is the basis for many meditation and relaxation techniques, which can help lower your stress levels, lower your blood pressure, and regulate other critical processes in the body.

The thing is, when we are faced with a challenging or stressful situation, slowing down and taking a breath can also make a real difference in how we respond. So, next time something doesn’t go the way that you wanted, or someone upsets you maybe it would be helpful to “take a breath, take a deep breath now” 🙂

With practice, we can purposefully slow down our breath anytime and anywhere until we feel less frazzled and more confident.

For those of us who have a faith we can even use ‘breath prayers’ as a helpful way in which to slow down and focus on our breathing, as well as focusing on the Word of God. 

Breathing a prayer to God is simply a way of using our body to engage our mind on the Word of God. Richard Foster in his book, Prayer, refers to this kind of meditative prayer as “prayer of the heart”.

Here is an example of what a ‘Breath Prayer’ can look like using Psalm 23:1 as the basis; “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.”

Breathe in slowly and deeply as you whisper or think: “The Lord is my Shepherd;”

Hold your breath and your consciousness of God’s presence…

And then exhale as you whisper or think: “I shall not want.”

Hopefully you have found the above information helpful and will allow yourself time and space to slow down and focus on your breath and breathe easier. 

In closing I’d like to share a piece from the ‘New York Staff Band of The Salvation Army’ entitled “Breathe”. The lyrics of the song were originally written by Marie Barnett in 1995 and as you listen to the piece you may want to use them as a breath prayer:

This Is The Air I Breathe
This Is The Air I Breathe
Your Holy Presence
Living In Me

This Is My Daily Bread
This Is My Daily Bread
Your Very Word
Spoken To Me

And I… I’m Desperate For You
And I… I’m Lost Without You

This Is The Air I Breathe
This Is The Air I Breathe     

Blessings ’til next time 🙂

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