Just Smile

MIRANDA..........Alack, what trouble
was I then to you!

PROSPERO........O, a cherubin
Thou wast that did preserve me. Thou didst smile.
Infused with a fortitude from heaven,
When I have decked the sea with drops full salt,
Under my burden groaned, which raised in me
An undergoing stomach to bear up
Against what should ensue.
-- The Tempest

I found some interesting statistics on smiles once.  The source claimed that the average woman smiles 62 times a day and the average man smiles 8 times a day.  I think that both of these numbers are just kind of sad, especially considering the amount of the day that both men and women spend awake.  I mean, let us just say that a person gets the normal 8 hours of sleep a night.  That leaves 16 hours of a day where that same person is engaging in conscious activities...16 hours seems like a long time to smile only 8 (or even 62) times.

 There are so many insanely hilarious things that happen in life.  I have almost 23 years worth of anecdotal proof that when life happens so does smiling.  I've had something silly or embarrassing happening to me almost every day, either that or I've attempted to say something hilarious.  For instance, this past weekend I spend with my friend Brenda, and there was one night where, in an exhausted stupor, we ran through the entire globe of accents.  If she didn't have one then I did.  I think one of the only accents neither of us could do was any African accent--sorry Africa >_<

One thing a lot of people have noticed about me is that I tend to compensate with humor.  If I feel uncomfortable, bored, or upset about something, I tend to make whatever is making me feel however I am feeling into a joke.  One recent example would be dealing with my parent's divorce.  The Sunday after I learned that it was happening I broke the news to my roomate Christina in this way: "So...funny story..."

It kind of reminds me of that part in Mel Brooks' Robin Hood spoof movie where Prince John tells the Sheriff of Rottingham "Huh! Wait a minute. I have an idea. Maybe if you tell me the bad news in a good way, it won't sound so bad."  I seem to live by this code.  I would rather smile and laugh then give into emotion.  To me, emotionality defies rationality--this principle only holds for myself for some reason; I have no problem with others being emotional.  Usually when other people are crying or being emotional, my next instinct reaction after comforting them is attempting to make them laugh.  I think it's a self-preservation thing.

Smiles are my concrete wall.  They don't necessarily have to be my smiles because I tend to fall under the category of pensive and melancholic more than joyful and triumphant.  Abby, one of my good friends, is never short of smiles.  She could make a room of stuffy business executives roll on the floor.  It's the kind of presence she has, the kind that lights up a room, that buffers my wall.  Thankfully, I have a lot of those kinds of friends who, whether consciously or subconsciously, smile consistently and drag smiles from others.

These people remind me of a character in an anime called Baccano named Elmer Albatross.  He claims to have absolutely no idea what happiness is or if it can ever be achieved, but he strives to make all the people he knows happy by going around and smiling himself while constantly begging to see his comrades smiles.    Yes, I often compensate with humor and smiles, but that's more from being being a pragmatist than an optimist.  Smiles may be my wall, but I often don't smile when I'm alone.  I don't smile for myself.  I'm not as optimistic as Elmer, but sometimes it just seems healthier to think that way.

While watching an episode from the first season of Glee on Netflix with my mom tonight, I heard a song I forgot that Glee did a cover of.  It was "Smile," originally written by Charlie Chapman.  Listening to this song inspired this whole tirade, so here's the YouTube video for the Glee version. Life is full of joyful and hilarious moments, but it's still life, and sometimes it hurts just a bit too much.  I vote that we stage a peaceful protest and just smile.