The Value of a Smile

I first saw this when I was at university, torn from a newpaper and pinned up, at a jaunty angle, on a corkboard outside our lecture theatre. It brought a smile to my face then, and again today.


The Value of a Smile
It costs nothing, but creates much.
It enriches those who receive, without impoverishing those who give.
It happens in a flash and the memory of it lasts forever.
None are so rich that they can get along without it,
And none so poor that they are not richer for its benefits.
It creates happiness in the home, fosters goodwill in a business and is the countersign of friends.
It is rest to the weary, daylight to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad and nature's best antidote to trouble.
Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed or stolen for it is something that is no earthly good to anyone until it is given away!
So, if at any time others should be too tired to give you a smile, can we ask you to give one of yours?
For nobody needs a smile so much as those who have none left to give.

---