It sounds a little bit cliché to talk about the power of a smile, but it’s something that still needs to be said because I think the art of smiling has been lost to some extent over the last decade or so.
It used to be that on any given day, I could go to the store, gas up my car, check the mail or just go for a walk, and the majority of people I encountered would not only look up to acknowledge me but would also either smile, utter a pleasantry, or both.
It was (and is) a way of getting through the day. Though yours might have gotten off on the wrong track, seeing the smile of a random passerby and/or hearing a kind word can sometimes be the difference between your day getting back on track or continuing to not go in the direction you want it to.
But even in the South, where it’s long been a way of life that strangers talk to one another like they’ve known each other their whole lives, you don’t see this as much anymore.
The power of the cellphone, unfortunately, rules the day. It’s not uncommon that someone walking by or standing behind you in the grocery store line has their head buried in what’s happening on their phone, whether it’s the music they are listening to, a text message they’re checking out from a friend, a viral social media post they’re looking at or maybe a column that they are reading.
Distractions, which were once an exception to the rule, are now often the rule itself, and it seems that all too many would rather immerse themselves in their phones than interact with the people who are actually in front of them.
This, of course, extends to family members and friends who, even at the dinner table, where conversation and catching up on life’s events used to be the first order of business, take a back seat to the desperate “need” to watch a popular influencer’s TikTok or Instagram video.
Cellphones and social media have their purposes, don’t get me wrong. I’m not knocking either one of them. It’s just the decisions people make to choose the digital device over the human being sitting, standing or walking nearby that have me curious.
Just the other day, I was waiting at a local restaurant to pick up an order I’d placed online when I encountered the most pleasant woman with the nicest smile as she handed me my order. Sure, that’s a hallmark of good customer service, but I had a sense that the greeting was genuine, and it definitely had a positive impact on my otherwise lackluster day.
Similarly, if I encounter someone at the drugstore or wherever I happen to be, and I notice the person either seems to be having a bad day or seems lost in thought, I try to smile, give them a little “pick me up” by complimenting them on something or make small talk.
More often than not, the acknowledgment brings a smile to their faces or, at the very least, a lighting up in their eyes that wasn’t there before.
There is indeed so much power in one simple little smile. People should put their phones down for at least a few seconds or minutes and do it more often for those around them. They might be surprised at how much of a difference it could make to someone else, or even to themselves.
North Carolina native Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah and is a media analyst and regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection.
