I should learn not to make loud entries. Last time I asked if you smell what I was cooking, I didn’t follow it up properly. Whatever I was cooking would now certainly be smelly because it will be rotten by now. No excuses there. I probably just had more important things to do in my life.
2 days back, a chain of events unfurled on an otherwise dull day, which made me think of what many people call “random acts of kindness”. I took it up a notch, and instead of being randomly kind, I was randomly funny. Not that I am not used to being randomly funny, but this time it was to a stranger who I didn’t care about. But to my surprise, it was such a self-gratifying feat, and I was not able to figure out why. Why would I feel happy that I made a stranger smile?
I followed it up, when someone (again someone I don’t really care about, but a little better than a stranger) made a snide remark about my height ( which, at 5’8″, is perfectly average by Indian standards ), and I took it in stride and actually made a self-deprecating joke out of it to get a smile out of that person ( and, I hope, a bit of repentance out of them for being shallow ). It was an amazing feeling. And who wouldn’t like to feel good, especially if it is so easy.
I have always been fascinated by how people interact, and what is the takeaway from interactions. Maybe because I always had the trouble to interact with people who are not really close to me, without a little nudge here and there, I always wondered how more gifted people do that. It is not that I have trouble having a conversation with a stranger, but more often than not, to the love of my life, I cannot figure out if they are interested in the conversation, or if they are just bored. This self-doubt is the reason for my disposition towards being introverted; I will make the first move, but I will rarely make the second move. But what is the takeaway when you just make one move and leave the game? Is it worthwhile? Will world be a better place if everyone commits to make at least one person smile? Will *my* world be a better place if I commit to do that?
To know the answer for this, I decided to start a social experiment, which I would call Smiley Face. It is to make at least one stranger laugh or smile per day, and document it. I want to see how far I can go with this. I will stop the day it gets boring, or I feel that the warmth that spreads inside me when I do the deed is no longer warm enough.
I hope I can inspire at least some people. And yes, I sincerely believe that happiness is the goal we are looking for in life. We just have to figure out how each of us attain happiness.