Steps to a Smile - Just a Sweet Thought

Have you ever noticed the many steps to a smile? It starts with the small one with the lips closed but lightly curled. It is the least sincere but sometimes warms up a cool conversation. It is a beginning, and also the smile we see most often. Next comes a broad grin with teeth showing. It is a sunny smile. It looks nice, friendly. Then there is the smile that accompanies light laughter. I can easily get there really quickly. Next, there is the smile of wild abandon, the smile that makes one forget any rules that may apply about laughing too loud or too long. You generally cannot do that with a stranger. Last comes the belly laugh accompanied by the largest smile of all. That is my favorite smile.

Recently, I observed a smile go through these stages and never realized the beauty of the last stage. I saw the face that possessed it and it was a joy to behold. At first, the face showed mild amusement. I smiled back and the smile proceeded to step 2. When another comment was made, it zoomed past stage 3 into stage 4. I laughed, too, and the smile slipped into stage 5, the belly laugh. It was magnificient. All the rules were broken. There has to be absolute trust to laugh this hard with anyone. It is a sweet surrender to boldly lose oneself hard into laughter. The eyes had grown too small to reveal anything during this stage. There is a level of intimacy that must accompany this stage of laughter, a level of deeper understanding of the other. The position of the head and the mouth tell the story. The head was tossed back and the mouth was open wide. The wonderful sound of laughter was emitted, not just any laughter, but uncontrollable laughter.

I think that is my music. It is the sweetest sound in the universe. It is the sound of human companionship and enjoyment of a shared moment. I hope to have thousands of more moments just like that one. I just realized I took the time to really sample the moment. Notice, too. Don't miss that feeling!

Hey Spain, this smile is for you!