"You smell like chocolate," Olivia Luz told me, after I kissed her goodbye this morning. Those four words lightened my step all the way to the train station and rightly set my disposition for the day.
My nearly-three-year-old had smelled the bite of sweet soy-infused chia on my breath that my wife, Chelsea, had made for me last night and Olivia had simply told me "like it was"
On the flip side, she has likewise told me "You're stinky," at the end of a long day. So the unfettered truth of a child can cut both ways.
Regardless, I couldn't help but think "what if" we all simply impulsively paid compliments to others - friends, colleagues, and especially loved ones—whenever, at the moment, they came to mind - surely the world would be a better place—wouldn't it?
Albeit it seems like a simple enough axiom, after almost-50 years, I fully realize it is hard to execute due to all the fears we learn along the way: judgment, misunderstanding, mis-intention, rejection.
Thus, to make a positive difference we must remind ourselves to embrace our original innocence on occasion—to be open to, dig for and discover, and simply acknowledge the gleaming little gems of interaction with others. By paying happiness forward, you are likely assuring its passage back to you.
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