The Sound Of A Smile

“A smile is happiness you'll find right under your nose.” – Tom Wilson

Hello Dear Friend,

Years ago my brother and I were sitting around the kitchen table at our parent’s house, consumed in a card game while our mother was undoubtedly whipping up something amazing for dinner. At one point during our game my brother looks up, fixing his eyes on mine and completely out of the blue, all serious like, he asks, “Don’t you just love the sound of a smile?” The way he said it sounded more like a statement than a question.

Bewildered, I said, “What?” and asked what he meant. He repeated the question and went on to describe that when a person smiles little air bubbles pop from in between the person’s gums and upper lip. Then, just to prove his point, he shines his pearly whites at me in a huge smile and sure enough, I heard it – Pop, pop, pop went all the little air pockets. Our mom and my response immediately filled the room with laughter as we both suddenly realized, a smile really does have a sound.

Leave it to my brother to pay attention to such little things that would otherwise go unnoticed by most. I’m glad that he’s so observant and that he notices things in life that most people pay don't and even more grateful that feels the need to educate and share his new found discoveries with whoever is around him. Causing them to stop and ponder it as well.

Society has us moving so fast we seem to always be in a hurry. Ever quickening the pace our footsteps seem to chant – Hustle, hustle, hustle! And so easily we miss out. Our unwillingness to slow down and live in the present has us missing the little things God gifts us with every day. Things that we often fail to realize because they are so minor but yet so important that when welded all together they are transformed into playing some pretty significant roles in our lives.

If my brother had never noticed the sound that a smile makes or if he had never felt the need to share it with me I would still be living my life unaware that a smile makes a sound. I wouldn’t have that conversation to think back on and I wouldn’t be reminded of my brother and the words he spoke in that simple statement. I could have easily missed out on that joy. That day could have gone completely different. One of us might have been doing something else or could have said that we didn’t feel like playing cards. We could have been chatting about other things so that my brother wouldn’t have been mentally consumed in his own thoughts. But because of that one afternoon spent hanging out and enjoying each other’s company, I find myself going back to that conversation often. I'll be engaging with someone and all of a sudden I’ll hear it. That faint pop, pop, pop that comes when a smile spreads without containment across a persons face and I'll laugh to myself remembering what my brother taught me all those years ago when we sat playing cards around our parent's kitchen table.

With love,

a Poetic Soul