Nauvoo Times - Vickey Pahnke Taylor

Mother Teresa said, “Peace begins with a smile.” I agree with her, on many levels.

A smile — a genuine one — is a gift we give. It costs us nothing and it brings happiness, calm, goodness to the people who are the beneficiaries as well as to us, the smilers.

That often begins a chain reaction of happy things, simple goodness, and thoughts of being or doing better. It’s the old “You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar” adage my mom used so often.

I found a poem that brought a smile to my face. I hope it does the same to you. With smiley thanks to the author, Steve Maraboli, here’s:

Dare to Be

When a new day begins, dare to smile gratefully.
When there is darkness, dare to be the first to shine a light.
When there is injustice, dare to be the first to condemn it.
When something seems difficult, dare to do it anyway.
When life seems to beat you down, dare to fight back.
When there seems to be no hope, dare to find some.
When you’re feeling tired, dare to keep going.
When times are tough, dare to be tougher.
When love hurts you, dare to love again.
When someone is hurting, dare to help them heal.
When another is lost, dare to help them find the way.
When a friend falls, dare to be the first to extend a hand.
When you cross paths with another, dare to make them smile.
When you feel great, dare to help someone else feel great too.
When the day has ended, dare to feel as if you’ve done your best.
Dare to be the best you can —
At all times, Dare to be!”

So today, my thought is this: In all of our daring, believing, faithful growing, we can start with daring to smile. It is a beautiful, loving gesture. When we catch ourselves smiling, when we pass a glass pane or a mirror, doesn’t it make us feel better? It makes the rest of the world feel better, too.

We want to be good followers of Jesus Christ. We can’t do everything the way we wish we could. But we can do small things well. Like beginning each day with a smile!




	Goodness Matters Begin With A Smile by Vickey Pahnke Taylor