How many lives can we influence?
I’m lucky enough to have a friend who is also my hairdresser and, above all, a truly beautiful person. His name is Yves Chabot. Yves has been taking care of my hair for… quite a few years!
Talking with him over the weekend, I realized something important: no matter what we do in life, we all have the opportunity to make people’s lives a little more beautiful!
He makes my hair beautiful, and his work makes me feel good about myself-because he does his job so well! But he doesn’t just cut, color, style and place other people’s hair. He smiles, he’s sympathetic, he listens and, above all, he’s really and truly kind to the people he sees. That makes all the difference!
Those of us who work in the public eye play a key role in influencing the lives of thousands of people, even without knowing it! Making other people’s lives more beautiful and leaving a smiling trace in their lives. Without necessarily remembering the person’s face, it has an extraordinary and certain power: to make us feel good and our hearts a little lighter!
The people who serve me coffee with a smile and wish me a good day change my mood when things aren’t going so well… the gas station attendant who courteously serves me with a smile gives me one more reason to smile. The person who opens the door for me when I’ve got big bags in my arms makes a small gesture that comforts me and makes me grateful to have had her on my way.
Think about it! We have countless opportunities to positively influence the lives of the people around us!
In Madhuri Kataria’s message for World Laughter Day 2007, she told us that a person’s laughter has the same effect as a small stone thrown into the water: the small waves go further and further out, and the laughter can reach far beyond the immediate surroundings. These little attentions and smiling attitudes that we can have for each other have the same effect: to influence the life of the person who will rub shoulders with the person who will rub shoulders with the person who… and so on to the other end of the world!
My grandmother used to write me a little poem on her greeting cards, which began with “A smile costs nothing to the giver but much to the receiver”. I realize how true that is…
Give it to the next guy? You bet! It’s good for all areas of life. It doesn’t have to cost money. Just smile!
Have a nice day!
Laughter, joy and peace
Linda
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