I opened a Dove chocolate one day and this message was inscribed on the inside of the wrapper, staring back at me.
Your smile is your best accessory.
I had an amazing conversation with a good friend last evening and she said something profound that really resonated with me. She said: "Everyone talks about their hobbies. Well I believe that my hobby is connecting with people." Wow, I think that is so profound, and it stuck with me because I never had the thought to describe one of my greatest passions in that way, and although I would consider this little blog so much more than a hobby, it is definitely a catalyst to share something with you all that is so much larger.
Happiness. This is what I'm referring to. I do not know if I could ever fully describe the joy and elation that my heart feels when I see someone smile, and even more importantly when I can be that human making another smile.
My sister and I love this blog because we enjoy the essence of the content that we write about: clothes, hair, skin, makeup, and we can post 1,000 blogs on different skin care products and make up and fashion trends, but I'm here to tell you that our vision is so much more than that. Our vision is to encourage every single beautiful and gorgeous woman (and men!) who read this blog to KNOW that you are already beautiful. Because what matters at the end of the day is not the perfect lipstick, or the new color trend, or the best conditioner you can buy, it's your happiness my Merrily readers. Because happy people are so beautiful, and happy people have the ability to change this world.
I will share something that's very personal, and that is when I opened that divine piece of chocolate and saw that message, I was in a period of my life where the last thing I felt like doing was smiling. It seems so miniscule, this silver piece of wrapper that millions of others who went through the same motion of opening that Dove chocolate found inside, but to me, it meant something. It reminded me that if I did not have anything to FEEL happy about, I had my smile. That one thing, I could never ever lose. It was an asset that I realized I had (and always did) that could be an inspiration to make other people happy even when I felt no happiness myself. That was almost a year ago, and as I reflect back on that exact time of my life, I thank God for every second from that point on until right now as I sit here writing this. I did just that. I used my smile to inspire others, to lift a bad day, to say silently "I care about you". Somewhere along the way, my heart shifted. Even though I went through many more rough moments in time, they became less and I started to feel stronger, until one day I realized that what I shared with others on the outside, I actually felt that on the inside too.
My smile saved my life.
It's now my mission to continue using this amazing gift that I have to save others, and that is what I am set out to do.
Never underestimate the power of this beautiful gift that you were given on the day you were born. Get out there and change the world, Merrily's. You may not realize it, but the simple act of smiling at someone could be the little miracle they need to keep going.
I still have that wrapper, tucked away. Anytime I catch a glimpse of it, I remember where I was then and how far I've come, and it makes me smile.
At the end of the day, as I see it, this is the best piece of fashion advice I really think I can ever give:
Your smile is your best accessory.
Keep living, loving, and smiling, my dear friends.
Much love and happiness always,
xoxo
~ j
"Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing." ~ Mother Teresa
