Work at Smiling. Smiling at Work.

“Life is like a mirror, we get the best results when we smile at it”.

I must admit I’m entering the stage of my life where I’m constantly questioning myself. Am I good enough? Am I happy with where I am? Am I happy with what I do? Do I enjoy the company around me? How can I get more out of life?

You see, everyone is on a one way, fast track path to glory. Yes, we were taught from young, that if we worked hard, put in the hard yards and persevered, we would all enjoy life’s glorious paths as well as a big pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. But in a company of 500, isn’t there only 1 CEO? All around me, I see old people, jaded, weary, and full of complaints, with nothing to look forward to. They plug away, working their asses off for that imaginary promotion. Guess what? There is no pot of gold, sorry, only hungry mouths to feed. And so back to the grinding wheel they go, day after day, year after year. Dogged determination or plain stupidity? Hardy and determined, or just scared what the unknown may herald? I’ll leave it to you to decide.

The building up of human relationships far outweighs one’s duties at work, simply because no man is a rock. Human beings were created for contact. After all, God created Eve to company Adam. It wasn’t for the sex mind you (though that was a bonus). Personally, I’m of the opinion that that the daily, never ending possibility of building up a solid human relationship makes life unpredictable and interesting. Goodness overflows when relationships are enforced and strengthened. Conversely, all the good work can be undone by a little lie here and there, and the occasional disappointment. Obviously, the unintentional breaking down of relationships could be caused by illness or other unavoidable circumstances. It is nevertheless, a break down.

In the past few weeks, I’ve seen so much - so many things to frighten me for the rest of my life. Perhaps I’ve been pampered to such an extent, that none of these have ever hit so close to home. Emotions and expressions contorted by anguish and agony, and pleading words I will never forget. There were few smiles, and even if any, the slight twitching of the face, accompanied by tired eyes. Courtesy smiles. This made me think. We work so hard, day in day out with ceaseless intensity, until we are experts in our own little fields. But when faced by the issue of the breaking down of human relationships, we ourselves break down? Does understanding how the Dow Jones trends really matter when your body ceases to take in oxygen? Last week, I learnt that intense, unexpected suffering passes more quickly than suffering that is apparently bearable. The latter drags for years and nibbles away at our countenance until one day, we are no longer able to free ourselves from the bitterness of our hearts and it becomes a part of us.

Life is not a carebear on a rainbow. Human relationships are things that need work on. They do not flourish by themselves. How many people have you been “close to in the past”? Without consistent effort and consideration, you can build up all the relationships you want and still be lonely. Then your life is dull and worthless. But consume yourself with the right kind of love, and I promise you that the radiance that pervades your inner being will permeate your surroundings. Mundane client meetings and irritating people will become merely events to be informed, not emotionally involved.

When you really want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it, that’s why my glass is not half full. It is overflowing.

Pb, I was neither tired nor disillusioned when I wrote to you yesterday. What I said still stands. Today however, I learnt that I’d much rather be tired at you, than have to pretend to smile. Because when that happens, the smile that eventually cracks is genuine.