Several years ago I noticed something strange: people seemed to be
smiling at me more often.
During my young adult years people had
never smiled at me that much. Most of the people I saw seemed to have
grim, tense faces. They would look at me for only a second or avert
their eyes altogether. Sometimes they would nod or say "hi" but more
often said nothing at all.
All that seemed to change, though, as
I got older. For some surprising reason people were suddenly greeting me
with a warm smile when I passed them. Their eyes seemed to sparkle when
they said, "hello" and many times they would even stop to chat happily
with me for a few minutes. At first I didn't know what to make of
this. Had the whole world suddenly gotten kinder without telling me? Had
the hearts and souls of everyone I met suddenly grown more loving and
joyful for some reason?
Then one day when I was walking alone in
a store the answer came to me. I was thinking to myself of how much God
loved me and of all the blessings I had been given in this life. At that
moment I walked by a display of mirrors and saw that I had the happiest
expression on my face.
I had been smiling without even knowing
it. Then suddenly I realized that I was the one who had changed. I had
grown so much in love, joy, and oneness with God. And it was the light
shining from my own soul that others were reflecting back to me.
We are all mirrors in this life. We all reflect each other's love. We
all share each other's light. We all help each other to become the
image of God that we were meant to be. May you always mirror every bit
of goodness, kindness, and joy that you see in this world. May your own
soul always shine bright as well. And may you make your whole life here
a reflection of the light of Heaven and the love of God.
Joseph
J. Mazzella
joemazzella@PROTECTED