Yes, that’s an iced matcha latte and yes I am SO LA. To be fair, it’s not just any iced green drink, it's topped with a “tahini, butterscotch cold foam,” and was served to me on its own wooden plank.
Maybe it was the drive listening to NPR, concerns about my family or wondering whether Pepe has doggie dementia, but there was something about seeing this green concoction that made me smile. The absurdity of it, the specificity, the ridiculous cost and my sheer admiration that someone took the time to think this up and realize their - I mean my - matcha dream.
Swallowing this salty, sweet, caffeinated perfection got me thinking about that smile. Sitting alone in an artisanal coffee shop in a strip mall that also sells plants, I wondered what else I could do to smile more. A worthwhile instinct because with some minor digging I found out there are legitimate benefits to smiling I hadn’t considered. I spend so much time with its raucous cousin laughter, I haven’t explored smiling much. Although my son works at a coffee shop in NYC called Smiley, based on the original “smiley face,” which definitely has a joyful vibe.
Here are 3 fast facts about smiling:
- Like laughter, smiling triggers the release of dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins.
- Smiling also contributes to stress reduction by lowering cortisol levels.
And my personal favorite:
- Smiling delivers “facial feedback.” I love this one, because you can even fake a smile and the brain “interprets the muscle movement as an indication that you are happy, creating a positive feedback loop.”
I’m not suggesting we all walk around with fake smiles plastered on our faces, but I do like anything that I can do physically to lift me out of a mood.
All this smile contemplation made me think it's worth casting a wider net for what I can do to make myself smile throughout the day. Maybe having more pictures of my family around me being silly, an antidote to all the growing pains we’ve each been in of late. Or lighting one of those “sugar cookies,” scented candles for a few minutes and blowing it out before it becomes chokingly cloying. Or singing along as loud as I want with Jackie DeShannon to What The World Needs Now Is Love. Even just stepping out into more sunlight - appreciating the simple fact that I live in southern california, that seems worthy of a smile. All of it free and it feels good.
Smiling is free and it's contagious. It may take a little effort, but less than going for full blown laughter. And like laughter, even fake smiling works for making us feel better. We just need to curl the ends of our mouths, maybe show a few teeth and the body still gets the dopamine signals. It’s laughter lite! And because of the contagious factor, we might be helping someone else with our smiles. Which is something to genuinely beam about.
