Smile!

So here is a picture of me at my 19th birthday party. I'm the kid in the green shirt who has a bunch of balloon strings behind him. Don't I look happy? You do not need to answer that question. Its very obvious to see that I am hating my life at the moment this picture was taken. At least, thats what it looks like. The reality of this picture is that my 19th birthday party was one of the best, happiest birthdays I have ever had! I loved it! It was only a couple of months before I left on my mission so my whole family was there! I was so happy! So what is with the picture? I was plenty happy, but nobody else could see it because I was keeping it all to myself.

The moral of the story is this: Just because we are happy doesn't mean that we look happy. If we don't look happy, then nobody else will be able to share the happiness with you because they will just figure that you are having a bad day. So if we want to share our happiness with others, we have to let everybody else see it! Smile a little bit if you have to. All of your words and behaviors should provide evidence that you are in a good mood, and that will allow others to absorb some of the good energy that you are outwardly expressing. Its kinda like the scripture in Matthew 5: 16 which says "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." You never know how much joy you can bring into the life of someone who is having a bad day, so make sure your "happy light" is shining.