The Power of a Smile

When my mother was alive, she used to advise to me again and again about the value of just being nice. “Never underestimate the power of a smile, ” she would say. I fear she would be very disappointed looking at the world today.

A lot of people don't smile and, when itcomes to service today, they're just not nice. Now, don't get me wrong, not all serviceworkers -- but a good many. I was on the phone the other day with a computer help desk. First a man, then later a woman, who couldn't have been ruder. And this to a customer, who didn't know his way around a PC. The woman, in fact, seemed to be chewing gum as she unemotionally clicked off a series of commands for me to perform.

The next day I heard from a friend of mine who got a performance review without his boss once looking up at him. Not once. You see it everywhere: The cashier who won't move for you. The bank teller who loses patience with you. The boss who couldn't be bothered even nodding to you.

Gone are the days when people cared about you. It's a sign of the times, I suspect. Many people are in many jobs they do not like. They're not happy. And people who aren't happy aren't wish to make you happy. But that makes me sad -- for them and for this country.

People who aren't happy, who don't smile, who don't joke, who don't joke or make light of even bad situations, make for an even worse situation. And it spreads out like a cancer. Someone's rude to you, you're rude to them and to the next fellow you meet, and on and on, until we become a nation of unsmiling, annoying, worrying persons.

Smiles are contagious but so are angry looks. The boss who can't be bothered with his peon workers. The celebrity who can't be bothered with her annoying fans.

You know, my mom used to judge presidential candidates by how they smiled and if she liked them personally. I would say, “But Mom, you don't know if that smile is real. ” “Oh, yes I do. I can feel it, ” she would tell me. It's in their eyes, and it's in their smile. The rest just kind of falls into place.

［中文］

微笑的力量

母親在世時，曾一次次跟我提起與人為善的重要。“不要低估微笑的力量。”她常常這樣說。觀看當今世界，恐怕她會很失望的。

如今許多人面無笑容，就在服務行業中也有許多人連起碼的禮貌都不講。當然，不要誤解我的意思，我不是說所有的服務人員，但确實有一大批人如此。有一天，我打電話到一家電腦公司的咨詢部，起先是位男士接聽的，随後是位女士，他們簡直無禮之極，沖我這個不熟悉電腦的顧客撒氣。實際上聽得出，那位女士一邊嚼着口香糖，一邊噼裡叭啦地給我扔過來一堆指令讓我自己去查。

又一天，我聽一個朋友說，他的上司在給他做業績評估時居然沒擡頭看他一眼，一次也沒有。瞧，冷漠無處不在；呆闆的商店收銀員；愛發脾氣的銀行出納；正襟危坐的公司老闆。

熱情洋溢的時代消失了。冷漠成了時代特征。我想其中深層的原因就是許多人在從事着他們不喜歡的職業，他們自己就不開心，而自己不開心的人就别指望他能讓别人開心。這令我歎息——為他們，也為這個國家。

不愉快的人，他不會微笑，他不會幽默，玩笑也不會開，甚至處境糟糕也渾然不覺，他把事情弄得更糟糕。冷漠會像癌一樣擴散。别人對你粗魯，你回敬别人粗魯，如此循環往複，直至形成一個沒有笑意隻有忿懑的國度。

笑容有感染力，怒容也同樣如此。老闆要打發任勞任怨的員工們；明星要躲避讨厭的追星族。

我母親過去評價總統侯選人，總是看他們笑得如何，是否令她喜歡。我常反诘：“媽媽，可您不知道那笑是真是假呀！”她總是如此回答：“我知道，憑感覺。”真誠在眼睛裡，真誠在微笑裡。其餘的倒是容易明白的。