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Friday’s Food for Thought – The Power of a Smile
By JLP | January 9, 2009
I meant to post this a long time ago but am just now getting around to it. Back when I was reading Brent Kessel’s book, It’s Not About the Money
There is a lovely fable about a man standing on the roadside feeling dejected. A woman walking down the street feels empathy and smiles at him. The man, heartened by the smile, decides to write a letter to a long-lost friend. The friend is so touched to receive the letter that he gives ten dollars to a homeless beggar on the street. The beggar later that day finds a stray puppy shivering in an alleyway, and he uses the money to buy food for the dog and keeps it warm by his fire. The dog follows the beggar, and that night they stop and ask a family if they can spend the night on the porch because it is going to rain. The family agrees. During the night, they are all awakened by the incessant barking of the puppy. The discover that the house is on fire—right near the child’s bedroom. They are able to save the child, who grows up to become a famous medical researcher and discovers the treatment for malaria, saving millions of lives. And it all started with a simple smile.
Pretty cool story, isn’t it? A bit far-fetched maybe, but still a neat story.
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Topics: Miscellaneous | 5 Comments »
January 9th, 2009 at 2:31 am
Far-fetched indeed but good story nonetheless.
January 9th, 2009 at 6:40 am
It’s the same kind of story as It’s a Wonderful Life, or even in some extent The Butterfly Effect. You just don’t know what impact your actions have, so always try to make it a good one.
January 9th, 2009 at 10:17 am
That’s like those commercials where everyone’s action leads to the next helping action. Nice story, of course far fetched on many levels, but the main point of it is true. Be kind, be helpful, you never know how it may help out in the end for the better.
January 9th, 2009 at 10:28 am
Craig,
The more I think about this, the less far-fetched it seems. If flipping off someone at a red light can lead to road rage, then smiling at someone could have the opposite effect. No, it probably won’t set off the chain of events that occured in the fable, but you never know.
All I know is that I need to smile more…
January 9th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
it reminds me of a Dave Attell joke about a butterfly. I shall not repeat it