Looking for a table at Panera's the other day during the frenzy of shopping, I passed an older woman sitting at a table looking around anxiously. A Muslim, dressed for modesty in a hijab, she looked overwhelmed by the boisterous Christmas crowd. She looked different than the throngs waiting to eat their 'half and half' lunches.
Looking into her wizened face, I surprised myself and gave her a warm smile. She gave me one back, bigger and brighter. It really made me feel good and that feeling stayed with me all day. I realized that we both accepted each other with a simple smile in that 'never-to-be-seen-again' moment.
Smiling at strangers makes some of us feel squeamish or just plain weird. I smile a lot around people I know and feel comfortable with, but not so much around people who look different than me. I think because I'm wondering if they're wondering why I'm smiling at them. Weird, right?
But during the bustle of the moment, the smile I gave the Muslim woman was a small act of unconditional acceptance. It said "you're okay." And isn't that what we all want to hear?
In this season of extravagence, give someone the gift of unconditional acceptance. Your smile. It's amazing the goodwill it will create.
Christmas Blessings to all of you.
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