Captivating and Contagious

This week is typically the beginning of a very busy and stressful time of year. On top of all of our normal burdens, chores and responsibilities we have the added stress of the holiday season, which means heavy traffic, long lines and paychecks that can’t always fill the bottom of the Christmas tree, let alone the more important needs of our families.

So I have a suggestion that might help and it comes from playing golf. I have noticed that there are certain people that I enjoy golfing with a lot more than others. The people I enjoy are the ones that always appear to be having fun no matter how poorly their own game might be going. They are constantly smiling and cracking jokes. They notice and comment on the inherent beauty of the golf course with its lush green grass, ancient tall trees and abundant wildlife, and they are also quick with praise for others when somebody hits a good shot. That type of person brings a certain joy with them that is both captivating and contagious. They’re fun to be around and they make life a lot more fun for everyone else. Plus they lower the stress of the people they touch, which is truly a blessing!

Obviously we all have different personalities, so we can’t always be “that fun and happy person” all the time, but we can take small steps in that direction. What if we kept in mind that today (and each and every day) is a unique 24 hour precious moment in time that will never happen again because once it’s gone… we can never get it back! And what if within that 24 hour period every time we came in contact with someone else we immediately made it a point to think something positive about them! We would probably smile a lot more than normal and we would probably make those around us smile a lot more as well.

It really isn’t that hard to come with up a positive thought about somebody. You might not know them, or for that matter you might not even like them, but you can still find a positive thought if you try. Maybe the thought is…They have great hair, or their clothes fit nice, or they look healthy, or at least they still have all their teeth and can walk upright. I don’t know what the thought might be, but it’s not that hard to formulate a positive thought and guess what, a positive thought always bring a smile… and a smile is both captivating and contagious!

Christmas Ornament

Smiling is infectious,
You can catch it like the flu.
Someone smiled at me today,
And I started smiling too!
~ Anonymous