Just Smile - by Monica

It’s easy to be happy when everything’s going your way. And even when everything is going our way, sometimes we have a tendency to think of what we don’t have, thinking of how it could be better. But what about being happy when times are hard, even when nothing is going your way? I know for me personally, my moods are very situational. For each happy mood I’m in, it feels like something or someone comes in to ruin it, even something as simple as getting cut off in traffic (which is pretty much a daily occurrence). We go to work – we’re in a bad mood. It rains – we’re in a bad mood. We drive – we’re in a bad mood. We don’t have enough money – we’re in a bad mood. But what if, instead, when these things happen – we smile. We stay positive. Those are the people who I admire the most – the people who, no matter what happens, they stay positive.

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Mick is one of those people. Mick lives in Oregon. Many people consider Michigan, with the declining economy, as a depressing place to live. But Portland, Oregon was rated the unhappiest city in the U.S. by Business Week, and Oregon was rated last in the happiness index on mainstreet.com. And if someone can bring happiness to the unhappiest state in the U.S., then bringing happiness to Michigan should be a piece of cake.

Mick is a 75-year-old Navy veteran and he, by far, does not have what we would consider a dream job. He is one of those people who stands by himself at the street corner with a sign in hand trying to get passerbys to stop in to the nearby pizza joint. But, despite this, he keeps a smile on his face. He is so positive that he even has his own groupies who bring him food while he’s on his shift. With just a smile, he brightens Oregon, and he uses a job many people would hate to bring happiness to others. He waves and he whoops and he points at drivers passing by. He said when he began working there, it was probably the happiest day of his life.

How much happier would our lives be if we looked for the happiness in everything, even what may seem mundane to others? What if, everyday and no matter what happened, we kept smiling and made it our goal to make at least one other person smile as well? What if instead of complaining about how much we don’t want to be at work, we tried to make it fun? Wouldn’t our lives be so much better if we were thankful for what we had and focused on the happiness in our lives instead of the bad? We all have the capability to bring happiness to others, no matter who we are or what we do.