Smile…you’re on World Smile Day!

"Smile an everlasting smile, a smile can bring you near to me…"
I recall the opening lyrics of the Bee Gees hit ‘Words’ as the World Smile Day is celebrated today.
There are hundreds of languages in the world but a smile speaks them all. It is perhaps the only thing that unites us and bonds us together as human beings.
It is rare that a smile fails to get a friendly response. Say it with a smile, no matter what language you speak and you will communicate. A smile may happen in a flash but the memory of it can last a lifetime.
The World Smile Day was first celebrated in 1999. As usual, the theme for the day is "Do an act of kindness. Help one person smile". And as ever, the image that leads the way on this day is the iconic Smiley Face.
Harvey Ball, co-owner of an advertising and public relations firm in Worcester, Massachusetts designed the irresistible Smiley Face in 1963 to help ease the acrimonious aftermath following the merger of two insurance companies.
The logo was to accompany a "friendship campaign" that the company came up with to encourage employees to smile as they went about their work or interacted with customers. Thinking about what would inspire employees to smile, he decided the most simple and direct symbol would be a smile itself and that is what he drew.

"I made a circle with a smile for a mouth on yellow paper, because it was sunshiny and bright," Ball recalled in a 1996 interview with The Associated Press. Turning the drawing upside down, the smile became a frown. Deciding that wouldn't do, Ball added two eyes and the Smiley Face was born. He was paid a $45 fee for his timeless creation.
"Never in the history of mankind or art has any single piece of art gotten such widespread favor, pleasure, enjoyment, and nothing has ever been so simply done and so easily understood in art," said Ball. He died in April 2001.
In Malaysia, we had a song about smile that was aired over radio and television:
Here's the lyrics of the song Senyum Seindah Suria:
Senyum Seindah Suria,
Yang membawa cahya,
Senyumlah dari hati,
Duniamu berseri,

Senyum umpama impian,
Dalam kehidupan,
Kau tersenyum ku tersenyum
Kemesraan menguntum...

Senyum..kepada semua,
Senyumanmu amatlah berharga
Senyum..umpama titian
Dengan senyuman terjalinlah ikatan...

And here's the English version:

A smile is quite a funny thing
It lightens up your face
And when it's gone you'll never find
Its secret hiding place
Far more wonderful it is
To see what smile can do
You smile at me
I smile at you
And so one smile makes two

Smile
Smile
It isn't hard to do
Smile for a while
And let one smile catch two...