A Smile is a Gift From God

What does a smile bring? I believe the smile is ultimately one of the most powerful tools that we have in this world. When we offer a smile, it tells people that we're open to receiving the minimum of a smile back. What a smile means is that it lets people know that we care or that we're open to conversation. What a powerful thing that we have at our access for interpersonal communication. It is really fantastic to see what a smile does to the face of an elderly person who lights up the room with her gratitude.

Smile and the whole world smiles with you but cry and you cry alone. Most people do not want to be with Debbie Downer. Do you remember Debbie Downer from Saturday Night Live? That's ok if you don't. She was just a very wonderful example in a fun way to let people know that it's a lot more fun to be around people who are jovial, who are full of laughter and good humor. What she really had was a way to make people realize that humor is the only way to attract people to yourself. Otherwise, we would be bringing all the bummer folk towards us which ultimately leaves us in a graveyard of frowns.

Why smiles make people feel good has everything to do with endorphins. What endorphins do is, by way of a chemical reaction, reduce physical and emotional stress. When you smile, it triggers one's brain to release endorphins and thereby increase feelings of wellbeing. Smiles, like magic, make people feel good about themselves and make other people feel good about the smiler. A smile with laughter alongside is very infectious. You might remember the last time somebody made you laugh and it brought out your own uproarious laughter in response. Smiles make other people feel good because they show interest and care.

A smile may even bring up the flavor of your day! All in all, my wonderful listeners, I beckon you to try and see how the world responds to your very own smiles. It may well change the course of your day and brighten the world around you!

All is Fair in Love and Chocolate

Being that it's coming just around the corner to Valentine's Day, I thought I would make mention of a few properties about dark chocolate (I repeat dark, not white chocolate, as white chocolate has absolutely no chocolate in it at all). And thereby, all the benefits I will mention about chocolate do not apply. To list the beneficial properties I would like to mention firstly that there are wonderful endorphins released into the body that have a multitude of benefits. These benefits include high levels of energy, a sense of euphoria, and effective painkillers.

When you eat chocolate, it causes the brain to release serotonin that is necessary for the function of happiness and a feeling of calm while stabilizing your moods. It's too bad that we all can't take the "happy pill" anadamide so that we all could be stepping up a level on the happiness meter. Anadamide opens the synapses in the brain that allows feelings of happiness to move about freely. The wonderful thing about dark chocolate is that it contains anadamide and therefore helps people to feel happier and more joyful.

In my way of thinking, we can celebrate any positive affects on the brain especially relating to the endorphin release from dark chocolate. It also contains the chemical that our brain releases when we fall in love. To me, this brings joy and thoughts of some euphoria. This is why the link between Valentine's Day and chocolate go hand in hand. So essentially, I think that chocolate is that wonderful element that helps us to fall in love more easily because it contains the chemical phenylethylamine.

The thought that all chocolate is bad for you is really a misnomer because not all chocolate is bad. Instead, most chocolate (dark chocolate) has wonderful benefits for your health. Chocolate contains flavonoids which are antioxidants and have tremendous health benefits such as anti-cancer properties. The benefits certainly outweight the detriments because flavonoids are also good for your heart and fight heart disease. The bitter taste of dark chocolate without any sugar or milk certainly is better for you because of the fact that it contains more bitter flavonoids albeit it does not taste as lovely. Even though some people think that chocolate has no benefits, but in fact we can show that's not true (Jessica Huff, How Chocolate Affects Your Brain http://www.ehow.com/facts_5114080_chocolate-affects-brain.html; Live Science, Sweet Science: The Health Benefits of Chocolate http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,585591,00.html) Hmmmm-Hmmmmm!