Share Your Smile

Tara’s birthday is coming up next month on December 11th. I wanted to do something wonderful and impactful for her, and others, on her birthday. Something that could be done every year to celebrate her life. After brainstorming with Craig, we came up with this.

As you know, Tara and I are Muslim. We decided to start a sunnah in her memory. A sunnah means what the Prophet Muhammad said, did and conducted; his habits. So essentially, to follow a sunnah is to practice his (good) habits. All of God’s prophets were best examples of humans, however, it is said that no one smiled as much as Prophet Muhammad. Smiling is a sunnah. So, to follow this sunnah, it is as easy as sharing your smile.

The absolutely great thing about smiling is that it is free to get and free to receive. It is considered a charity to share a smile and a person can receive immense rewards for doing so. You don’t need to be religious to participate, though. Every single one of us can do this. Hear me out…

Medically, the act of smiling has been shown to increase serotonin, an antidepressant hormone in the brain, that will cause the person who is smiling to be happier. Be careful; smiling is contagious. You will catch it. Smiling plays a huge role in building relationships, and it closes any communication gaps. Smiling encourages ourselves and others to feel positive and motivated, to feel optimistic and even to remember happy times in our lives. I have even read that when the brain and heart activity was measured of smiling volunteers, it showed that smiling gave the same level of stimulation as that of 2,000 chocolate bars would! It’s got to be true when chocolate is involved, right? (I smile just seeing chocolate.)   

I’d like to share something personal for a moment. When Tara first converted to Islam, she had a dream of the Prophet Muhammad, before she learned anything about him. She knew it was him, though. Without getting into too much detail, the Prophet simply walked past Tara, smiling at her. She said she noticed his smile first thing and was captivated by it. Soon after this event is when Tara’s cancer journey began. Tara always had a terrific smile but that smile really came into practice during this journey. When her cancer brought fear, she used her smile to keep her focused and motivated. When her cancer brought pain and depression, she used her smile to lift her spirits. When her cancer brought disfigurement to her body, she used her smile to stay positive. When the cancer brought her to the end, she smiled with excitement as to what was coming next. She smiled because she felt grateful. Tara's favorite piece of advice from her father was, "Find peace and smile." I never seen anyone smile as much as her through this journey.  

Here’s what I am proposing we do. Over the next month to prepare for her birthday, post pics and/or videos of you (and others) smiling, using also the hashtag #onetarahill, on any and all of your social media sites. (Then we can use the hashtag to find all the posts.) You can send pics to me as well if you’d like, and my husband and I will make a slideshow to post on her birthday. The pics can be old or new, with or without Tara. I will make a public event page also about a week before as a reminder. I know this is the age of selfies, so there are lots of smiles to be had, but more than this, smile when your day is rough. See if it makes you feel better at all. Instead of walking with your head down (which I know many of us do), look forward and smile at the passers-by. See if you get a smile back. Greet people with a smile. Answer your phone with a smile. Smile at yourself in the mirror when you don’t think you’re good enough. Just SMILE! Smile…and remember Tara.

Help us to celebrate Tara’s life. Participate in this Share Your Smile campaign. What do you say?  

#onetarahill