“Telegram”

Ram Prasad, a retired hawaldaar, was waiting anxiously for his son's return from the war. His son, Ramesh had gone to the kargil sector to fight against the enemies who had infiltrated into our territory.

Ram Prasad had already heard in the news channels about the killings of various soldiers. Since then, he was worried about his son's whereabouts. Thus, he was waiting to get some message that will tell him that his son was fine. Ramesh was his only son though; his only hope to stay alive after his wife had died a long time back. He regretted himself to have sent his only son against the wishes of his son to fulfill his needs and desires, because it was he wanted to be in the Indian Army but couldn’t go because of certain reasons. He cried, he wept, and begged to god for his son's safety. He pleaded to god to not take his son's life, he pleaded to let him stay with him because he was the only one left in his life.

Then suddenly, there was a knock at the door, a loud thump. Everything went silent, there was silence everywhere. He felt scared to open the door. But, then he thought maybe it was his son himself. There was also this hope that allowed him to move slowly towards the door. As he opened it, he was greeted by his friend who was a postman. His friend said, "Hello! There is telegram message for you."

He quickly took the telegram from him, closed the door, and opened it. The telegram has just one line mentioned in it, "Major Ramesh Prasad dies in the kargil war."

A Million-Dollar Smile

Today, when I woke up in the morning, I woke up with a “SMILE” on my face. I always wonder what a smile can do to you.

Well, it can change your whole life drastically, and it can change your attitude throughout the day. Just one smile can bring two enemies together, and bring peace and prosperity. As there goes the saying, “You haven’t lost your smile, its right there below your nose; you just forgot it was there.” It means that you were in involved so much in your worries that you forgot to even smile. Smiling is not a difficult task. You just have spread your lips a little bit, and it’s a nice exercise too for your health. A smile can change your whole world, and it can make your life beautiful. It has the biggest advantages of all as a smile can make new friends, it can bring two distant people come closer. It puts other people at ease. It can be a great way to start a new relationship. If you are meeting a person for the first time, then, just pull up your million-dollar smile, and see the magic for yourself. A smile can even let us know about our personality and especially our level of self-esteem. It can help improve your social life and bring confidence within yourself.

“SMILE, and the world smiles at you.”

Imagine a person who is having a tough time during the day, and you just go to him with your smile. See the magic it will create to him after watching your smile. It will allow him to feel fresh. And now, you must be wondering that how can we smile all the time. Maybe, people will call us mad to smile on a funeral. But, its not always necessary to smile with your lips. A smile can make you realize that you are not the only one who has the sorrow & pain. There are others who have the same thing. Tell me one human being on this earth who do not suffer from pain whether it is due to loss of some loved one or loss of a job or any other pain. A successful person is one who smiles no matter what happens in their life.

A smile can make you live longer, and it has been even proved by many psychologists. According to a study of general psychiatry published in November ‘2004, it was proved that the elderly optimistic people were less likely to die than the pessimistic people were. As optimism helps you to always smile, which in turn lets you fight illnesses better. Due to optimistic attitude, people have the strong and robust immune systems. Christopher Peterson, Phd says that “Optimistic people act differently…..and are more likely to do the things that public health experts say are associated with good health”. Smile helps you feel like eating tons of chocolate bars. Smile helps bring happiness to you life as well as to the people around you, and that includes your family, your friends…A hale and hearty smile can help you improve your confidence and helps you succeed in your career. A smile is contagious. It helps to make others smile too. It helps create a “halo” effect thus helping us to feel more positive and more motivated.

Let me put forth a wonderful poem on Smile by Kurt Hearth,

A smile
is a frown turned upside down.
A smile
is painted on the face of a clown.
A smile
brightens a dreary day.
A smile
chases tears away.
A smile
is a gift that shows you care.
A smile
is priceless no matter where.
A smile
is the key to happiness.
A smile
a sure sign of success.

When you feel lonely in a strange place.
It helps to see a smile on another's face.
If there is any real magic around.
It is the silent magic of a smile's sound.

So, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and smile and let others smile too to spread happiness and prosperity…And then, there might be no suffering