Transcript

150. Smile · Just For Today

Cindy Marler: Good morning, everyone. If you've been listening to the Just For Today podcast for some time, you know that I love children's literature. I love children's poetry. I love how we write to children. And I wish that adults would go back to that time and read that literature and read that poetry because it's timeless, really. It's not meant just for children. So today I've I'm reading another poem from Shell Silverstein. Okay, I love Shell Silverstein. This is from his book called Falling Up. And the title of this poem is called The Smile Makers. The grungy, grumpy, grouchy giant grew tired of his frowny pout and hired me and Lee to lift the corners of his crumbling mouth. That was last year, and we've been here sweating, strainin' all the while. Sometimes it sure can be hard work to make somebody smile. If you're watching on YouTube, I'm gonna show the illustration. How hard is it to make you smile? That's what our podcast is about today. How easily do you smile? I am a smiley person. I am a smiley person by nature. I love to laugh. I love to make people laugh. I love to be in rooms of people laughing. I love to smile. My wrinkles show it, and they're all totally worth it. But some people are really hard to make smile. I make little games with myself. crossing people and paths and smiling at them and seeing if I can get them to smile at me. And sometimes they won't. And you look them dead in the eye and smile at them and they still will not return the smile. I don't take it personally. I've learned enough in my years to know that it's never personal, hardly ever personal. But just for today I want you to think about how hard it is to make you smile. Are there people out there like in this poem trying to hold up the corners of your mouth metaphorically? Do you live with people that are trying to get you to smile and working so hard just to get you to smile? Let's all smile a little bit more as the face relaxes, the smile brightens, and the mood improves. Just for today, let's smile.