A Smile Can Go a Long Way

 I have not given up getting my unpublished book “The Split Second:  In Consideration of Others or Look Up from the Phone and How to Deal with Rudeness in Others” published. There is some “pushback” against my concept of a society where we all get along and are nice to each other. Then there are others who have been wonderfully supportive of me to go on with this project. I am incredibly grateful to them. I hope I can get the good word out there. That is the hard part for me, right now.

We have all been in the position while shopping for groceries as I round the corner in the market and find myself ready to collide my cart I am pushing with another cart being pushed by another customer. I tend to move too quickly in the market as I do not like shopping, so this happens much more often than it should. I do not remember the last time I hit my cart with another. However, when I am about to crash the cart with another and stop myself, I smile immediately with a wry smile. I hope this will ease the other person who may get frustrated that our carts are going to collide right there in the aisle.

I also send up the corners of my mouth when I am about to bump into society out in the world. Sometimes that smile is followed with, “Excuse me,” or even “Pardon me, please.” Anything I do is a way to assuage the other person and keep any negative or even hot-headed feelings from arising. I think in these moments that it is best to keep emotions calm and not let tempers flare up right there in the market. Also, I find a smile can really calm down a nervous or antagonistic situation from even beginning. In other words, I think a smile can go a long way to keep the world a more positive place.

My book is about thoughtfulness for others and openly showing it. Many have told me that this is slipping away in society. I believe that we can truly become a society where we can all think of others as we “go out in the world.”  It must start somewhere, and I am willing to be a pioneer to bring it back into society.