Many times people often think that just because someone has a hearty laugh, or constantly smiles that they must be living a happy life. I would submit to you that more often than not it’s a bit of the opposite. The person who’s laughing the hardest and joking the most, is the one who typically has been through the most pain and despair. But instead of letting that hardship get them down or stunt their opportunities, they choose to use it as ammunition. They let it help them develop even more character and to tell their story to someone. It helps them have that memorable, infectious smile.

You see I dare you to talk to your friends that have been through something. You will see that before they choose to wallow in their self pity, they would rather laugh and tell their story. I love it when people think that just because you smile big and you look good that must not have been through anything in your life. I think it’s the power of smiling and laughing that keeps many people from losing their sanity on a given day or time.

Give yourself a moment to reflect back on all the stories you’ve heard. Think back about all the people you’ve come across that you see smile all the time. Do you know what their story is? Do you know if they’ve been through any kind of difficult situations? The beauty of a smile is a person lets you think that their life is all good, while on the inside they may be torn apart.

I will never forget that someone once told me that by looking at me they don’t think that I’ve been through anything. I politely smiled and laughed, then said “If you only knew the half.” It’s been the story of my life for such a long time since I’ve been an adult. People only know the outer layers that I let them see and they instantaneously think that they know my story. They think that because I smile and laugh all the time and wear nice clothes that my life hasn’t been a struggle.

Anyone who knows me well would know that my life hasn’t been nearly as easy as it may seem. See that’s what happens when you let your smile control your life. So I challenge every one to take a minute and find out if someone is smiling out of shear joy or are they truly hiding the pain behind their smile. If so, then clearly it’s a case of the smile that hides.