Some time ago, I came across a quote by Thich Nhat Hanh, in which he talked about thanking a child for sharing its smile. Part of me dismissed it as an overly-sweet sentiment, but living as I do in a place famed among its own for being a bit cantankerous, (see link for more), the other part of me welcomed the idea. I guess the notion has been working away quietly inside me, because I have recently started to value smiles differently.
Today, as I ran through the park, crossing paths with those who do and those who don’t, it occurred to me that smiling, in Berlin at least, requires a certain amount of confidence, and a definite lack of cool. Bring it on, because as Thich Nhat Hanh also says, “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”