| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Laugh Again” Our Bible verse for today: “A happy heart make a face cheerful …” Proverbs 15:13 (NIV) Our thought for today: “Being happy makes you smile, and smiling makes you happy” It comes as no surprise to us that when we’re happy we smile. But did you know that smiling also makes you happy? It does. There’s an old saying that goes, “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile is the source of your joy.” The truth of this has been scientifically proven in numerous psychological and neurological studies. Psychologically, there’s a theory known as “self-perception theory”. It holds that acting as if you feel something will eventually lead you to actually experience that feeling. If you act like you are brave, soon you will begin to actually feel brave. If you act like you love someone, and if you continue in those actions, eventually you will begin to experience true feelings of love for them. Likewise, if you act happy, soon you will begin to actually feel happy. Most of us acknowledge that if we feel happy, we will act happy. But it’s also true that if we act happy, soon we will feel happy. Smiling is a major part of the happiness equation. When you’re happy you smile. So conversely, if you smile you will begin to feel happy. The self-perception theory proves it over and over again. If you want to have something to smile about, just go ahead and smile, and soon you will be smiling because you feel like it and not because you are trying to. There’s also a neurological element to this smiling business. Smiling results in the secretion of endorphin hormones in the brain. Endorphin has an opiate effect on us in that it makes us feel good. The physical act of smiling releases endorphins in the brain, and that in turn makes us feel good, which gives us even more reason to smile, which then releases more endorphins, which make us feel even better, which makes us smile even more … and on it goes. So, smiling is essentially a drug that makes you feel good, and it’s legal! You can get high on endorphins and there’s no law against it! Beyond that, it’s actually good for you. The more you smile the better you feel and the better you feel the more you smile. Smiling is also contagious. If you smile at other people other people will smile back at you. Then they will experience the release of endorphins, which will make them feel better and happier and they will smile even more, which will cause yet more people to smile, releasing endorphins in them, causing them to smile at other people and who will then get an endorphin high, and they will smile at other people and … This stuff could change the world! The fact is that joy causes us to smile but also, a smile causes joy. So, smile today! Smile a lot. God bless, Pastor Jim |
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Smiling right now. Thanks!