SMILE, SMILE, SMILE!

Today we avoided the town and went to east of Shepton trying to follow footpaths and find some countryside.  As you can see, we were put off by the sign shown below, especially as the bull stared at us from a distance!  This morning it was mild, murky, muddy underfoot and good fun!

Halfway through our walk, Jenny decided she needed a branch to decorate her sitting room, so we searched and found one that was very damp but had a lovely twisted stem.  She then proceeded to sling it over her shoulder to get it home!

Jenny mentioned in her last post that she thought I was more photogenic than her - I don't think that is true, but I have discovered that for photos, and indeed life, direct eye contact and a smile is the way to go!  From an early age my mother used to tell me, "nobody loves a misery" and there is that old saying, 'smile and the whole world smiles with you'.  Whenever I meet new people, feel nervous or don't know what to do, I just smile!

I have read that if you feel fed-up, forcing yourself to smile can help.  The physical act of engaging those muscles somehow lifts your mood and your smile becomes genuine.  Yoko Ono once said, 'Smile in the mirror.  Do that every morning and you'll start to see a big difference in your life'.

I really don't like pics of myself when I am not smiling.  I think the older you get the more grumpier you can look if you don't smile!  As George Eliot said, 'Wear a smile and have friends; wear a scowl and have wrinkles'!!  And the American actress, Diane Lane, has been quoted as saying, 'I think that anybody that smiles automatically looks better'. 

Also, a smile is recognised the world over.  According to William Arthur Ward - 'A warm smile is the universal language of kindness'.  And what do we do if we can't see somebody but want to send happy thoughts?  We text or draw a smiley face...   So I say, smile, smile, smile!!

My favourite photo of the day is of these two sheep, who had the good grace not to run away when I pointed the camera at them!  I am sure, in their own unique way, they are smiling!!