Always Smile

Have you seen the clouds cover the heart of the sky on a rainy day, so that the eye falls on nothing but dark things with no light in them??

And then, have you seen a ray of sunshine peer out from between the clouds, lighting everything and scattering the darkness? Such is the smile from the lips of a gentle woman on a dark day with all its troubles.

And oh, what smiles there are... the one that parts over teeth like strung pearls... and the one that gathers about the mouth while it is closed, like a rose in its bud... the one the two eyes share in, so that they smile too... and the one that floods the whole face until it seems a shining page...

Oh, the meanings that smiles carry... the frank, innocent one, like the smile of an angelic child who has met from the world nothing but what delights him... and the reticent one that hides behind it the wisdom of the knowing expert — it knows and understands, yet it smiles to conceal and to feign not knowing.

The one overflowing with tenderness, and this one and that one; but the most splendid of them is the one that carries the loftiest meanings of sacrifice... a smile that persuades you that its owner is happy in what he spends for your sake... he gives to you without asking and without reckoning, but the most precious thing he gives you is a smile that makes you feel he is happy in giving it — nay, as though he had taken more than he gave... The most splendid of them is that brave, heartening one, like the smile of a physician before the bed of a wasting patient, breathing hope into souls, casting its lights upon the bed and all around it, so that everyone smiles together... The most splendid of them is the one that mocks at hardships, standing erect before the terrors of life like a statue of grandeur set up on the shore of a surging sea... The waves roar and it does not shake; the winds blow and it is not troubled; it goes on smiling, as though it were saying to the world: I am a match for you... where are you beside me? Bring what you have — for however you rage, you shall never reach the base on which I set my feet.

Madam, if you are a young wife, then smile... When the hour of your husband's return from his work draws near, tidy yourself and put the day's problems behind your back, so that when the door is knocked it is you — not the maid — who hurry to open to him, and smile.

That smile is the reviving draught for the tired husband: it makes him forget all the day's troubles and pains... It is the ray that lights the paths of life before him... And you will be repaid for it with a heart full of love and devotion...

When your child takes his first steps, train him to smile. If he stumbles and falls, do not take alarm and scream, for his bones are pliant as cartilage and seldom break... Your cry throws him into confusion and fear, and so he weeps... Stand at a distance and laugh when he falls; let him hear the sound of your laughter, and he will rise by himself, shake off the dust clinging to his clothes, and smile... From that very minute you are breathing into him the spirit of self-reliance, the spirit of mastering hardships... the spirit of mocking at pain...

When your child goes to school, he must smile... Tell him that among lessons there are the hard and the easy, and among schoolmates the gentle and the rough, the treacherous and the true, and that he must know this and expect it... He must rejoice in the easy and smile at the hard, trying to master it... He must be glad of the kindly companion and smile at the rough one, and so soften his roughness; be true to the true, and keep clear of the treacherous with a wise smile.

If the child is a girl, train her to smile. Let her walk at her brother's side with head held high, sure of herself, so that if a blow strikes him, whether by design or by mishap, she does not fall to weeping, but stands beside him, smiling, giving him heart.

When she becomes a young woman, train her to smile. Make her understand that life does not grant us everything we crave and desire... that in it are poison and richness, bitter aloes and honey, pleasure and pain, and that we must accept all it offers us without bending under the weight of pain... The valiant human being is the one who receives life's pains as a thing there is no escaping... and a thing that passes, like everything in life.

And when your daughter becomes a wife, she must smile... Say to her: you are a partner — and a heroic partner... you are the angel who lightens pains... If trials pass over your partner — and how many are the trials of life — smile at them... Let him find in you the broad breast that has room for your pains... Listen to his complaint with patience, and comfort him in sweet fashion when you cannot comfort him in deed... Let him feel that at his side is a valiant partner... a brave companion... not some limp woman who, the moment she feels trouble, falls to weeping and fretting and lamenting...

When your daughter becomes a mother, let her smile.

Say to her: you are your children's refuge... you are the guide, the director, and the friend... These dear ones have their troubles, so let them carry them to you... Let them come into your room in the evening as the sinner burdened with cares enters the room of the father confessor, and go out again with their problems settled, the burden of each one lifted by your wisdom and understanding, and by the shrewdness and experience the days have won for you...

Always smile... If you are sound of body, then smile: you are in a blessing for which many envy you... And if you are ill, then smile: your smile whispers hope to you without your knowing it, and draws to you everyone who sees you.

If you are rich, then smile: life has laid out for you much of its comfort... And if you are poor, then smile: poverty has sharpened your sensibility and made you a delicate creature, all feeling and tenderness and mercy...

If you are beautiful, then smile: life has adorned you with the most precious of its ornaments... And if you are not beautiful, then smile, for your smile bespeaks a good soul; it bespeaks contentment with what God has apportioned... it bespeaks an inner beauty that spreads through your soul and breathes out its fragrance in spite of everything... It is a smile that confers upon you a gentleness and a delicacy that make you beloved of all souls.

And if you give, give with a smile, for so the worth of your gift is doubled... And if you receive, receive with a smile... it is the sign of a grateful heart that acknowledges a kindness...

Smiles — oh, the magic of smiles! And how deep their effect upon souls... Oh, the sweetness that flows from them, and the power that lies hidden in them... the sweetness of enchanting womanhood, and the power of triumphing over life's pains... Oh, their beauty in all its kinds! But oh, the splendor of that brave, heartening one, which is all denial of self, all giving and spending, and which stands like a statue of sacrifice set up on the shore of life, gazing at the clashing waves and listening to their roar, then smiling and crying out: Bring what you have — for however you rage and tower, you shall never drown the base on which I set my feet...