October 1st is World Smile Day
The first Friday of every October is World Smile Day.
World Smile Day celebrates acts of kindness, spreading good will, and of
course, smiles!
In 1963, commercial artist Harvey Ball designed the original
smiley face to help boost moral in workers. Since then, hundreds of emoticons
and different smile designs have been created. The smiley face has become one
of the most well-known symbols in the world.
Ball noticed that the popularity of the smiley face was causing it to
move away from his original intent of happiness and goodwill. So, in 1999, he
created World Smile Day. The celebration of the day was to be simple but
effective: to use the day to smile and spread small acts of kindness. Harvey
wanted to reinforce the human nature of the smiley face by encouraging people
to personally share real smiles with each other.
What are some activities you can do to celebrate World Smile Day?
Do something charitable
Spend some time volunteering around the community. You
might join or help a local organization in your area, or you might do something
as simple as picking up discarded trash. Any simple or little thing you can do
to help something or someone else will make the world that much better.
Do something special for yourself
Spend some time today doing something you really enjoy
for yourself. Sometimes it can be hard to make time for ourselves and we tend
to put our hopes and dreams on the shelf. Today, pick up the instrument you
haven’t played in a while, paint a picture, or do anything that resonates with
you and will make you smile.
Commit a Random Act of Kindness
This doesn’t have to be anything expensive or extravagant.
You can complement a co-worker’s outfit, help a stranger, or even share a smile.
Smiles are free! You’d be surprised how a simple act of kindness could change
someone’s day or impact their life.
Fun fact: Did you know that 470 different smileys were
created for internet emoticons in 1999?
