"Guerrilla" Smiling ?

A few days ago Gord and I were talking about how much just smiling at someone can really make a big difference to the smiler and the smile-ee. It's amazing how the simple act of smiling can change everything in an instant. Smiling and mouthing "sorry!" when you accidentally cut someone off in traffic can diffuse an potentially ugly road-rage situation. Smiling and waving at your neighbor increases 'community' sentiment, even if you don't say a word. When we were talking about this, I thought about the phrase "guerrilla gardening" - the practice where people go ahead and plant flowers and edible plants on vacant lots, boulevards, or wherever a bit of dirt is available. (Cluttercut has blogged about this recently.) It occurred to me that we could all be practicing "guerrilla smiling" as well!

Lately I've been waving and smiling at oncoming drivers on the country roads I take on my way into work every morning. When we first moved here, almost everyone waved at everyone else this way, but it has sort of dropped off over the past couple of years, as more people moved into the new acreages that were being built. I've decided to start doing it again, because it's nice and I like it.

So, this morning I just raised my two fingers in a peace-sign looking greeting and the lady in the car coming towards me broke into a big grin! I have no idea who she is, but I know that both she and I felt better in that moment than we did the moment before! I did the same thing to the guy who drove by me in a pickup truck, and he didn't smile or wave back, but he did a bit of a double take as he was maybe thinking, "hey, did you just wave at me?" I'm not sure if he was happier after I waved or not, but he was surely more curious!

Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh really sums this up nicely when he says,

If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work. "

Smiling for peace - that's something we all can do!

Picture courtesy this flickr site. Nose-touching not required in guerrilla smiling!

Alignment

Yesterday Gord and I were at our Taoist Tai Chi class again, and we were working on some really basic stuff, like getting our hips and shoulders and bellybuttons all facing the same direction when we are doing each of the moves. At one point the instructor, Paul, was showing Gord a slight correction so his alignment was properly 'square.' (I am not always 'square' with my alignment either, but Gord was in the front row this time and so he was easily spotted for correction by Paul.) There was some humourous talk about bellybuttons and after the class Gord mentioned to me that he thought his hip problems from when he was a kid (Legge-Perthe's syndrome) that were preventing his hips from being able to move into a properly square position. I suggested he let Paul know about that and he went to talk to him.

Getting to the point: Paul then started talking to Gord and a few others of us who stayed after class about a bunch of things, like how everyone becomes more flexible and more able to relax at a different rate, and how we never really know when our bodies and minds will be able to do something we haven't done before, but that the best way to foster this process was to ensure that all of our body parts and joints were in the alignment most conducive to relaxation and stretching.

When he said that, about alignment, I had this sudden thought in my head: everything is about proper alignment, not just tai chi moves. Relationships in particular: relationships with ourselves, with others, and with all aspects of our environment. If things aren't properly aligned, there won't be any balance harmony or connection with those things.

Paul also talked about how we can't force our muscles to stretch or relax, because as soon as you do, the muscle's tendency is to contract instead. The same principle applies to life, personally and collectively. He also said that words just can't really convey this idea very well, which is probably why I can't get the idea across as well as I'd like. It has to be experienced.

There was one point yesterday when I was listening to all this that I nearly started to cry because it was all so profound.

Thankfulness

Gord was away for almost three weeks and now he is back. I am very grateful and happy upon his return. This morning we had a cool conversation about all the things we wish we could do to help make the world a better place and what we can do to make our lives more simple and meaningful. I am so thankful that I have a man like this to share my life with!

Today is my parents' 41st anniversary. I thank them for the great example they set for all of us growing up, about how integrated and connected two people can be in a marriage that not only works, but flourishes!

I'm going to call them right now to wish them a happy anniversary!