It takes seventeen muscles to smile and forty-three to frown. Thats what I was teaching my daughter recently in her pre-school science. A smile is the most wonderful thing, yet we don't do it often enough.

The kids do it a lot though. When they first awake, they smile at me. They smile at me when I give them something to eat, play with them, talk to them. Their smiles come so easily to them. And it lights up their little faces and their eyes. Their smiles are real, not pretentious like some of our adult smiles. We must really learn from the children. A real smile lights up the face and the whole expression. It makes the person you are smiling at want to smile back.

So try smiling today. Smile at the hassled counter service people, the cashier, the waitress, people you know, people you don't. Smile at your spouse, your children, your friend, your co-worker and see what happens. It just might make them feel better but most importantly, it will make YOU feel better. Here are some smile quotes to help you along.

Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing ~ Mother Teresa

Smile at each other, smile at your wife, smile at your husband, smile at your children, smile at each other - it doesn't matter who it is - and that will help you to grow up in greater love for each other ~ Mother Teresa