Wear a smile and have friends; wear a scowl* and have wrinkles

– George Eliot, 1819-1880, English Female Novelist (pen name of Mary Ann Evans)

I was talking to one of my best friends last night, and he was telling me that if I force myself to smile; I will feel internally happy and this will reflect on everything I do or say; it will even affect those around me and they will start feeling happy as well.

Thinking about what he said; I believe there is a ring of truth to this and that it does make a difference to you and those around you if you were wearing a smile rather than a gloomy face.

We all remember the great saying that you move less muscles in your face if you smile and this translates to less wrinkles (I don’t think that cosmetic companies would appreciate what I am saying here … kidding J)

This small humanly gesture that we call a smile; it makes your face look more beautiful, yet we are so mean to ourselves and those around us by not smiling. It has become a culture in Jordan that we Jordanians do not smile, and keeping the scowl is actually "wajaha" or reflects seriousness. But who said that a mile contradicts with this? Why do we deprive ourselves from this feeling?  

So remember that after you brush your teeth, show them off by smiling even if to yourself in the mirror, and see what this does to your morale. Verify these theories of the connection between smiling and happiness; maybe these guys are right after all and we have been left out all that past time.

Don’t forget what they say: Keep smiling because you will never know who is falling in love with your smile.

*Scowl: Frown