Smile

Smile
Originally uploaded by osbock.

In Blink, Malcolm Gladwell recounts some research about how assuming a facial expression such as a smile actually triggers the brain to experience pleasure and happiness. This has been verifed by imaging, and other techniques, but I like his story about the researcher who was cataloging human expressions and found he was depressed after frowning all day and happy after smiling.

Thich Nhat Hanh calls this "Mouth yoga" in "Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life." I haven't finished it yet, but almost every little chapter really touches me.
He includes this poem by Marion Tripp:

I have lost my smile
but don't worry
the dandelion has it.

I have lost my smile, but have found it again in the faces of my children, my wife, in the sound of my breath.