Behind the Smile
A smile is a warm up for the inner and outside world. It communicates to the people in the outside world that there is the presence of joy, happiness and sometimes peace and good life.
You get into an interview room and you are received with a smile, you will reciprocate and calm your nerves. But if you get into the room and you find stern faces, then you are likely to forget about the interview, interview questions and focus on the impression that you got in the surrounding. You look at the atmosphere and your mind wanders away.
Happy has been there a couple of times. As her name suggests, Happy puts on a smile for public show and please the outside world while in reality the inner her is chewed up.
“I put on the smile to camouflage. I wouldn’t want all my problems to be written on my forehead in bold and capital letters. But today I want to open for you this chapter in this book. Behind this smile is a series of events; troubled relationships, financial crisis, living from hand to mouth, lack of job security, depression and much more. However crushing the situations are, I keep it to myself and soldier on.” She narrates, still smiling.
How have you managed to keep the smile while under the due pressure of life?
“I have hope for a better tomorrow. It keeps me going. I tell myself yesterday is gone, today is here and tomorrow is the future and things won’t be the same. What I ought to do is get out of my comfort zone, push myself, grab opportunities, make things happen, try once and fail but try until it works. Learn something new, have an impact and leave a legacy.” says Happy.
Off camera she narrates how the society is the jury. It wants to dictate how to live, how to dress, how to eat and where, what to drive, tells you the dos and don’ts and at the end of the day because society dictates, you stop being yourself and live by the set rules of the society.
Think of musicians, media people and other celebrities, when they are heard on radio, seen on TV or majored in a magazine the society automatically brands them as being “rich and wealthy”. The society doesn’t care whether they are going through a rough time or not. At some point it doesn’t classify them as human. Not knowing that the strong also need a shoulder to lean on.
It’s almost a cliche’ that marriage is not a bed of roses and so is life. You have also heard it said, when life gives you lemons make lemonade. That’s practically how you are expected to react to life because not everything will go as you would wish. Note it down, behind that smile, is a wet handkerchief or napkin, couple of sleepless days and nights, couple of depressant pills, suicidal thoughts. But a sure thing is, they are just phases in life. Stay positive and remember, it won’t harm to be kind and human to others who could be concealing their pain in smiles.
Just as William Shakespeare puts it “A smile cures the wounding of a frown.” Keep smiling whatever the circumstances.
