Life was not meant to be an unending sequence of beautiful days. But beautiful things can happen even on gloomy days, and often those beautiful things happen when we find a way to make someone smile.
It usually doesn’t take much. Even a small spark of light can brighten someone’s darkness. A kind word of appreciation or encouragement, a cheerful greeting, a sincere compliment, an invitation to join your circle of friends or even just your conversation—these simple gestures cost you nothing and yet can be a great gift. The key is that they point our hearts toward others rather than ourselves.
So much of our daily life is centered on self—our own needs, wants, demands, and responsibilities. They’re needful, but it need not be all consuming. Perhaps we could benefit from looking less in the mirror and more into the hearts of others. It may take practice, and it certainly takes some effort, but generosity of spirit can become a habit of the heart, even a way of life.
Sometimes it’s tempting to assume that the happiest people are those with the most prosperity or even the fewest troubles. But of course that isn’t true. That person you know who seems to be unfailingly happy surely has had her share of heartache and difficulty. Her life hasn’t been easy or perfect, and some days are better than others. She’s just decided that those hard times will not be her focus. Instead, she focuses on making other people smile. She made kindness a choice, and it’s now become a habit. She’s happy because she is determined to make other people happy.
Ultimately, self-centeredness is a lonely place to be. So if you seek for more love and beauty in your life, spread some around in other people’s lives first. Make someone smile today, and without fail, you’ll find yourself smiling too.
[1] Originally presented by Lloyd D. Newell on the Music & the Spoken Word broadcast, September 13, 2015.
July 28, 2024 –
Broadcast Number 4,950
The Tabernacle Choir
Orchestra at Temple Square
Conductor
Mack Wilberg
Organist
Brian Mathias
Host
Derrick Porter
Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee
Ludwig van Beethoven; Arr. Mack Wilberg
Consider the Lilies
Roger Hoffman; Arr. A. Laurence Lyon
The Ash Grove
Welsh melody; Arr. John Longhurst
Dearest Children, God Is Near You
John Menzies Macfarlane; Arr. Mack Wilberg
Awake the Harp, from The Creation
Franz Joseph Haydn
Smile
Charles Chaplin; Arr. Sam Cardon
Fill the World with Love, from Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Leslie Bricusse; Arr. Mack Wilberg