Put That Pen in Your Mouth...and Start to SMILE!

Not feel like smiling? Yeah, I get it, things are kind of crazy in the world. Frowning seems more appropriate. But hold on: smiles are nice, and we all need to feel (and share) warmth and light as much as possible, in my grumpy opinion. Well, the good news is that sometimes all it takes to get the ball rolling--or the smile glowing--is simply putting a pen in your mouth, thereby artificially positioning your facial muscles into the facsimile of a smile. And then, due to the marvelous unity of our physical and emotional/spiritual selves (part of the miracle of G-d's creation), "smile" has somehow been neuronally registered and dopamine is released in our brains. And that means we begin to FEEL happier. The "external" smile has awakened, or induced, an "internal" and genuine feeling of greater well-being. Modern psychological studies have confirmed it...but it's a classic truth discussed in traditonal Jewish sources long before. The external can awaken the internal. Of course, we have to work directly on our inner selves too, and that is primary: studying Torah deeply to absorb its life-affiriming wisdom; praying; cultivating real relationships with others, etc. But taking external action to move ourselves in a better direction--even in the absence at first of the inner joy or spark or inspiration--can be a tremendously helpful strategy to employ to make our lives better. So follow Rabbi E's advice: put that pen in your mouth...and start to smile!