I had a typically tough day at work. Nothing went easy and
all interactions were difficult. It was one of those days that I felt the weight of the world squarely on my shoulders. As planned, I went to my mother's for dinner although I was
not really feeling up to much conversation. As I walked into
the house, I kissed my mom hello and greeted my brother
and sister-in-law.

I could hear the sound of my nephew playing in the living
room. Ah, to be three years old again! As I walked past the
living room on the way to hanging up my coat my
movement made him stop his play to see who was there. I
stopped in the doorway and said "Hi, Walter. Whatch ya
doing?" In that instant, his eyes brightened and his mouth
formed this megawatt smile. Dropping his truck, Walter
came running to me with arms wide open. I was caught off
guard by the absolute joy he was showing just to see me,
and my heart responded by doing the biggest happy-dance
it has ever done and all the stress and depression I was
carrying just a moment before disappeared.

When I first heard of Soul Graffiti I wanted to contribute a
powerful story about a special incident in my life. Tonight
as I write this, I realized that I have witnessed a multitude of those special moments, although I have all too often
overlooked the power of these experiences. When it
comes to Soul Graffiti, to me, nothing touches the soul in a
more profound way as the absolute joy in the eyes and
smile of a child.

I am not meant in this lifetime to have children of my own,
so I relish all the time I can have with my nieces and
nephews and the children of my friends. Children teach
me the importance of being honest with my feelings,
especially love. There are so many words to describe
identical experiences, yet the word "love" seems unique in
its ability to capture that special emotion. I wonder if
perhaps this is so because there really is meant to be only
one type of love - honest, natural, heart-to-heart
connection. The type of unconditional, joyful love conveyed
by children who love you just because you are you. Tonight
I believe I have learned that that is exactly it.

As I ponder soul graffiti I question how often am I afraid to
flash my own megawatt smile to someone lest they
misinterpret my intentions. How fearful am I of not being
in total control of all the relationships in my life? Why do I at times choose to live in isolation, when connecting to
another with merely a smile raises our vibration and
reduces our imagined burdens?

I look back at how many times I immediately was cheered
when I saw someone smile. It was as if their smile
connected directly to my heart. It didn't matter if it was a
mother smiling lovingly at her child or a smiling stranger
who caught my eye, the effect was the same - instant
connection leading to an unsolicited, but incredible, joy.

As I write about soul graffiti I wonder what it would be like if I committed to acting like children and chose to give my
biggest smile to everyone I met, for no reason other than
we all share a special place in this world and we have
been brought together in this moment in time to
acknowledge that fact. To let each person I come in
contact with know that they are special simply because they
are here. I know that there are few things that make me
happier than when someone returns my smile. The heart
connection is real. The way it makes all of my trials and
tribulations dissipate is real. And the feeling that we are
really all One when we connect is the realest of all.

So tonight I commit to my own ideals of soul graffiti -
conscious smiles in order to leave an everlasting imprint
on another's life.