Simple Stress Relief: Smiling!

Success is measured by the number of times a person smiles. I would not call someone successful if he or she is tense, worried, disappointed, dejected and miserable. Who would want such success?

Ask a child how many friends he has in his class, and he will do a finger count. He will pick three, four or five students from a classroom of fifty. Children are unable to befriend fifty peers in their class; how do you expect them to be friendly with the world?

Scientific research shows that a baby smiles 400 times a day and adolescents smile only 17 times a day. However, an adult does not smile at all. What is it that takes away natural traits of humanity such as friendliness, compassion, broad-mindedness, scientific temper and smiles?

Somewhere along the line, we have failed to nurture basic human values. What really obstructs human values is stress and tension. If a person is tensed, then his perception, observation and expression suffer. And there are only two ways to get rid of tension: either lessen your workload or increase your energy levels.

 

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a world-renowned humanitarian and spiritual leader. He is the founder of the Art of Living Foundation, an international non-profit that works to strengthen society by strengthening individuals. Sri Sri’s programs of trauma relief, conflict resolution, self-development, education, women’s empowerment, vocational training and revival of human values have benefited an estimated 300 million persons in more than 145 countries. www.srisri.org