As the world's "darkness" tries to dim our light, gain a new perspective on how to take it back!
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Welcome to the Be Your Best Self Blog by Marsha Abbott.
"Just Imagine..."
Let’s take a moment and just imagine…let’s imagine right now holding a sweet, innocent baby in our arms and having that perfect little human look up at us and give us the biggest, sweetest smile we have ever seen. Just imagine how it can change our world…
About seven months ago, a good friend of mine had a precious baby girl. And all I can say is that this little girl was wanted more than life itself. The hurt and heartache my friend and her husband experienced as they tried to conceive this incredible girl…all of the emotions…all of the tears…all of that pain…well about seven months ago, it suddenly became so worth it as this amazing child entered into the world. What I didn’t expect…what I could have never imagined…was that this bright-eyed child was going to change my world too. And even though her time here has just begun, let me tell you, she has already taught me so much about life. And I can’t wait to share it with you…
When this precious girl sometimes needs a sitter, my family and I have been fortunate enough to get the opportunity to watch her. And this little lady, she is literally the BEST baby I have ever been around. She is always happy! When most babies wake up in the middle of the night or early in the morning, they wake up screaming for that next bottle. Not this girl! She wakes up talking, smiling, and laughing. And while she probably does want to eat, she just can’t help herself. As soon as she hears you talking to her, she can’t help but smile.
And that smile…oh my! When that sweet and innocent face looks up at me and gives me the biggest cheek to cheek one-dimpled smile, the world seems to stop right in that moment. Everything on this earth just feels so right. And in that instant, my heart feels so happy that it wants to explode with love.
It’s a smile that truly changes my world, and if you could just imagine that smile, I bet it will change yours too.
Because here is the truth of it all: When we see a precious, innocent baby give us that big grin, it is a reminder of all the good that exists in this world. It’s a reminder that we all started off this exact same way too…happy and innocent…before the sad darkness of our universe tried to dim our light.
So what this precious girl has taught me, and what she has reminded me of is that we don’t need to let the darkness out there dull that light in our eyes and in our smile anymore. We don’t need to focus on the bad that absolutely exists in this world today. Instead, we can focus on the good and let our smile shine brighter than the sun…no matter how old we get and no matter how much bad lives among us.
There has never been a better time than now to use our smile to change the world instead of letting this world change our smile.
So what about you? What does your light look like today? Is it still there or did the world seem to steal it from you? And if so, how do we get it back? How do we keep smiling through the sadness and the cruelty that exists in our world? And most importantly, if we can do this, how will it impact not only our lives but also the lives of those around us?
I believe there is only one way to keep that smile shiny and bright as we live out our life. For me, it’s all about what we are going to choose to focus our energy on each day.
We all know and are very aware that darkness and evil exists in our world. It’s frightening, it’s daunting, and it can be exhausting. But here is the best news: We don’t have to focus on that if we don’t want to. Instead, what’s important to remember is that for all of the darkness, there is just as much goodness. People helping others, people doing good deeds, people loving others even when they don’t need to.
It’s the type of goodness that is so easy to see when a sweet and innocent child looks up at us and gives us that big, beautiful smile of theirs. It’s a reminder that all is right in the world, or can be, if that is what we choose to focus on. And what better reminder do we need to be sure to keep smiling at every opportunity that we get? Because that smile we choose to carry with us…it will be a bright reflection to those around us as a reminder to do the same. To smile and remind others of the good that still exists in this world.
So don’t let this world change your smile by focusing on the bad. Instead, let’s choose to smile as bright as the sun every chance we get. Because here is the thing…if that sweet baby girl’s big and beautiful smile can change my world… then just imagine…how your smile will be able to brighten the world that exists all around you.
So don’t forget to keep smiling, my friends.
*For those of you struggling with something in life or have a topic of interest that you want me to talk about in this blog, email me at BeYourBestSelfBlog@gmail.com. Let’s work together to Be Our Best Selves!