\u201cGo ahead, smile!\u201d
\nmy mother would whisper to me,
\nwhenever she was anxious herself,
\nhaving to face intimidating or worrisome people.
\nIn moments of humiliation,
\nmy smile shielded and strengthened her.
\n\u201cGo ahead, smile!\u201d
\nBecause a child\u2019s smile hides
\nall the suffering and uncertainty in the world.<\/p>\n
In India, they say,
\n\u201cChildren are the world\u2019s smiles,\u201d and it\u2019s true.
\nAren\u2019t children the ones who bring us all together,
\nwhen their parents are fed up with begging and pleading?
\nTheir smiles stop the questions and the criticisms.
\nIt\u2019s their strength, their strength as children,
\nthat finds friends for their families.
\nThey play, they run, they grow up
\nin rundown neighborhoods,
\nin slums squeezed between highways and factories.
\nThey shout too loudly.
\nThey disturb their whole class.
\nIn church they can\u2019t keep quiet or stop fidgeting.
\nBut when they feel touched by your love,
\nthey beam the most irresistible smiles at you.<\/p>\n
Sometimes I start thinking–
\nif the world keeps going like this,
\nchildren will no longer have the strength to smile.<\/p>\n
Then who will be left
\nto hide a father\u2019s shame when he is out of work?
\nWho will make a mother forget the drudgery of everyday life?
\nWho will remind our world
\nthat tenderness is worth more than efficiency and profit?<\/p>\n
I think of the many solidarity organizations,
\nincreasingly hard hit by the economic crisis.
\nI think of all those who, too caught up in these difficult times,
\nuneasily edge away from the worst off.
\nIf we can\u2019t keep children smiling,
\nif we let grinding poverty, which is already so painful,
\nbecome absolutely hopeless,
\nwhat kind of a world will we be living in?<\/p>\n
So tomorrow, how do we plan to recapture
\nthe hope that lies behind children\u2019s smiles?
\nHow will we understand what they are trying to tell us?
\nTomorrow, how will we find the strength to laugh?
\nHow will they plant joy in our hearts,
\nand remind us of the meaning of justice?
\nHow will they urge us to stand up against poverty?
\nHow, tomorrow, will they assure us that love is our future?<\/p>\n
A little boy told me,
\n\u201cIf people hear what we put up with,
\nthey will say to themselves, \u2018Things can\u2019t go on like this!\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cGo ahead, smile!\u201d my mother would whisper to me, whenever she was anxious herself, having to face intimidating or worrisome (…) Read more