"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe."

I am the sort of person who can either be smiling until my face hurts, or I get accused of resting bitch face. I don't really mind though, I mean, who smiles when they're concentrating or deep in thought about life? You would probably think me crazy if you saw me grinning as I marched down the street, anyway. But... should it really be that way?

Living in a city but having grown up in a village, I miss being able to look at, talk to or smile at strangers without them being afraid both of me and of committing some sort of social faux pas. We are all so separate and involved in our own little boxes of life, that we have stopped letting others in by fear of them shaking our own precious box. Even if it is just for a split second.

The title quote is by John Muir and his 'My First Summer in the Sierra' from 1911. And what strikes me is that even if we may feel further apart than ever, the above rings true. No matter how isolated and solitary a person is, they're still connected to everyone and everything else. 6 degrees of separation comes to mind, and having been privy of some bizarre coincidences; like running into people I know halfway across the globe, you do realise how small our world really is and how interwoven all our lives are. Then why are we so afraid of others?

They say smiling is contagious, and in that case it’s the best disease in the world. You can smile at me any time, please go ahead. Spread the contagious danger that is happiness! What’s the worst that could happen, really?

-Smile more at others, because in reality, you'll only be smiling at yourself.-

*I made this post as a 300 word challenge - another user inspired me the other day, but unfortunately I cannot remember who they were. Thanks anyway!