Today, while taking my afternoon stroll in the park, I ran across a woman who was sitting alone in a wheelchair. Hanging her head low she appeared to be either sad or very deep in thought. Because I’ve learned that it is possible to create miracles in someone else’s life, I decided that I’d pass her and give a soft hello.

When I walked by and lightly cooed” hi!”, she appeared astonished. But- much to my very own surprise- she opened one eye, looked up at me and forced the faintest most contrived smile. And, with great difficulty, said hello back.

It was very clear to me before I spoke to her that she’d been having a really hard day and did not want to look at- or speak to- anyone. She was sitting alone in the empty park, maybe contemplating life; seeming oblivious to the world around her, not wanting to look up or smile or even be bothered- for that matter.

She did not realize the miracle she’d created in my life by just a simple response of a smile back at me. Nor did she realize she’d taught me a profound lesson… which is to smile, even when it’s difficult.

After my hour of exercise in the park I noticed that she was still there. But only this time she made sure to look up and smile when she saw me circling back around.

What a great lesson I learned today! Who knows how long she was sitting there alone in the park like that! And that point isn’t really the important point. The important point is whenever you feel a chance to create a miracle for someone (through just a quick smile), take that chance!

What I remember of the afternoon is that she continued to smile the remainder of the time I was there. No matter how difficult it was for her to raise her head and smile, she did it anyway.

Try to learn what she taught me today. And that is to smile, even when it’s difficult.

—Penna

The Smile, even when it’s difficult by INNER PRINCESS Magazine, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

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