Reconnect Today I spent three quarters of an hour hearing my smile. Now, to many of you, that will sound very daft indeed. Understandable. To be perfectly honest I felt daft doing it…but then I was naked and smiling vacantly up at the ceiling and to an outside observer, of whom I sincerely hope there were none, it seems a loony thing to do. Now, all of us, have a whole range of different smiles. How can hearing one create much of an emotive response beyond that which incited the smile to begin with. Fair question, you are clearly quite clever. There is the smile of laughter, derision, spite, fear, surprise, the fake smile, the subtle curl of the lips, the flirting smile…even contempt has a smile. I would argue, as I discovered twenty minutes ago naked and in a bath, that these smiles are constructs. That is not to say that they are any less real or valid, merely that they are social tools. Used for the most part unconsciously and to benefit an audience. But you too can spend a rewarding time hearing your smile!! Just three easy payments of all your money to my address. You won't be sorry for long! In all seriousness, what I'm planning to describe probably won't sound very impressive or exciting, and you can either let the biology of what is literally happening ruin the magic or try and feel a little wonder. That's on you. All you need is a bath and a bit of darkness. At first I was larking about 'whaling' as I like to call it, making waves and generally enjoying the happiness that comes by being submerged in hot water. Listening to music. I'm sure you can picture the scene, don't though! I have a reputation to maintain! Can't have you lot fantasising about my bath time. As you lower your head into the water, making sure to keep your eyes and nose above the water-line and ears submerged. You will hear the beat of your pulse. Stick with it for a while. It is amazing in its own right when you stop to think about it, but not the object of this story. Keep your face in neutral and spend a moment getting yourself in time with your beat. As you relax into it start a slow smile in the corners of your mouth. You will begin to hear a rumble as if from far away. As your smile grows it will gain in volume and intensity until it starts to sound like a herd of wild horses stampeding down a hillside. As your smile hits its widest you'll find it. Thunderous and powerful in your ears. Not the sort of smile you use often…or ever, but yours all the same. All the other smiles in your arsenal are facets of, or slithers of this smile. This smile has a strength that doesn't wax or wane. Private, but yours. You may not think it is your most beautiful smile, often it is the dainty and fragile that are considered beautiful. But this smile has a beauty of its own, majestic and strong. If you are anything like me you will feel it, its quite infectious…you'll probably do it a couple of times shifting to neutral before leaping back into it. Try not to imagine how it looks, alternating blank face and ecstatic face at your bathroom ceiling. Or do, the merriment won't do you any harm. All in the act of smiling and the thought process that accompanies the sound should prove rewarding. Experiment with a few other gestures, I know I did. My frown growled at me…fitting no?
