WOULD YOU HAVE SMILED AT HIM?

By:  Z. Ziglar

The story is told of a man who went to the top story of the Empire State Building in New York for the purpose of jumping off.  When he got to the top he discovered that it was fenced in.  Committing suicide there was impossible.  As he was riding down the elevator, it occurred to him that by doing it that way he might injure or kill other people in the process.  He re-thought and decided to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge.  Since it was a long walk, he had time to do more thinking.  He decided that, if on the way even one person smiled at him, he would consider life worth living and not take his own life. 

The question is, had you been one of the people he met that day, would you have smiled at him and saved his life? 

I recognize that the question is rhetorical.  However, the fact is that there are approximately three billion people on the face of this earth who go to bed hungry for food – but there are over four billion people who go to bed every night hungry for a smile, a word of encouragement, a friendly greeting. 

Wouldn’t it be tragic if one of those people was your mate, your child, your parents, a brother or sister, a neighbor?  Maybe someone you work with who is a nice man or woman, but life has dealt them some cruel blows lately.  A simple word of encouragement, an indication that you know of their difficulties and are concerned, can make a big difference in that person’s life. 

The interesting thing is that in the process of encouraging others, whether it’s with a smile, a friendly greeting, or a humorous, encouraging thought, we ourselves benefit. So, give that smile to the person who doesn’t have one.  It could make a difference.