Smile!

For the past 12 days, I have had a gastrointestinal viral infection that has kept me in bed and on a liquid diet. One of my energy healers told me to visualize a waterfall coming from the top of my head. He told me to open the gates in my abdomen to let the water flow all the way out of my feet. “Do this, and the virus will be washed away.”

While lying in bed, I tried to visualize the great waterfalls of Hawaii flowing through me, but the water always seemed to stop. As my illness progressed, I couldn’t even visualize anymore.

A week later, the energy healer asked how things were going. “I’m still sick, and I can’t seem to visualize the water fall,” I replied.

“You are too serious,” he said. “You need to make it more fun. When you are happy like a child, you are the most healthy.”

Yesterday, some young children were running around the fountain outside my window. They were laughing and giggling at the silliest of things. It got me to thinking, “What percentage of my day am I smiling, laughing, and/or giggling?” I took it quick survey, and the percentage was really low, perhaps 20%.

My sons are better. They laugh, smile, and have a pretty good time, unless they are doing school work. School and work seem to turn smiles into seriousness, especially now since schooling is online and the kids get no recess to run around and play with each other.

When I drive, I am rarely smiling. I’m always thinking about something serious like how late I am or what is the best route. I never smile when my ex-wife is in the room.

I’m going to up the percentage of my smiling time. Even as I am writing this, I am smiling at the computer screen. Seems silly, but why not?

How do you find laughter, giggles, and smiles in your day?