The Smile

Smile at each other,
Smile at your wife,
Smile at your husband,
Smile at your children,
Smile at each other;
Doesn't matter who it is,
And that will help you to grow up in greater love for each other.

Mother Teresa

Many Americans are familiar with "The Little Prince", a wonderful book by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. This is a whimsical and fabulous book and works as a children's story as well as a thought-provoking adult fable. Far fewer are aware of Saint-Exupery's other writings, novels and short stories.

Saint-Exupery was a fighter pilot who fought against the Nazis and was killed in action. Before World War II, he fought in the Spanish Civil War against the fascists. He wrote a fascinating story based on that experience entitled 'The Smile (Le Sourire)". It is this story which I'd like to share with you now. It isn't clear whether or not he meant this to be autobiographical or fiction. I choose to believe it is for the former.

He said that he was captured by the enemy and thrown into a jail cell. He was sure that from the contemptuous looks and rough treatment he received from his jailers he would be executed the next day. From here, I'll tell the story as I remember it in my own words.

"I was sure that I was to be killed. I became terribly nervous and distraught. I fumbled in my pockets to see if there were any cigarettes which had escaped their search. I found one and because of my shaking hands, I could barely get it to my lips. But I had no matches, they had taken those."

" I looked through the bars at my jailer. He did not make eye contact with me. After all, one does not make eye contact with a thing, a corpse. I called out to him "Have you got a light, por favor?" He looked at me, shrugged and came over to light my cigarette.

"As he came close and lit the match, his eyes inadvertently locked with mine. At the moment, I smiled. I don't know why I did that. Perhaps it was nervousness, perhaps it was because, when you get very close, one to another, it is very hard not to smile. In any case, I smiled. In that instant, it was as though a spark jumped across the gap between our two hearts, our two human souls. I know he didn't want to, but my smile leaped through the bars and generated a smile on his lips, too. He lit my cigarette but stayed near, looking at me directly in the eyes and continuing to smile.

"I kept smiling at him, now aware of him as a person and not just a jailer. And his looking at me seemed to have a new dimension, too. "Do you have kids?" he asked.

"Yes, here, here." I took out my wallet and nervously fumbled for the pictures of my family. He, too, took out the pictures of his niños and began to talk about his plans and hopes for them. My eyes filled with tears. I said that I feared that I'd never see my family again, never have the chance to see them grow up. Tears came to his eyes, too.

"Suddenly, without another word, he unlocked my cell and silently led me out. Out of the jail, quietly and by back routes, out of the town. There, at the edge of town, he released me. And without another word, he turned back toward the town.

"My life was saved by a smile."

Yes, the smile -- the unaffected, unplanned, natural connection between people. I tell this story in my work because I'd like people to consider that underneath all the layers we construct to protect ourselves, our dignity, our titles, our degrees, our status and our need to be seen in certain ways -- underneath all that remains the authentic, essential self. I'm not afraid to call it the soul. I really believe that if that part of you and that part of me could recognize each other, we wouldn't be enemies. We couldn't have hate or envy or fear. I sadly conclude that all those other layers, which we so carefully construct through our lives, distance and insulate us from truly contracting others. Saint-Exupery's story speaks of that magic moment when two souls recognize each other.

I've had just a few moments like that. Falling in love is one example. And looking at a baby. Why do we smile when we see a baby? Perhaps it's because we see someone without all the defensive layers, someone whose smile for us we know to be fully genuine and without guile. And that baby-soul inside us smiles wistfully in recognition.

Hanoch McCarty

Take A Moment To Really See

We have all heard the expression: "Remember to stop and smell the roses." But, how often do we really take time out of our hectic, fast-paced lives to notice the world around us? Too often we get caught up in our busy schedules, thoughts of our next appointment, the traffic or life in general, to even realize there are other people nearby.

I am as guilty as anyone of tuning out the world in this manner, especially when I am driving on California's overcrowded streets. A short time ago, however, I witnessed an event that showed me how being wrapped up in my own little world has kept me from being fully aware of the bigger world picture around me.

I was driving to a business appointment and, as usual, I was planning in my mind what I was going to say. I came to a very busy intersection where the stoplight had just turned red. "All right," I thought to myself, "I can beat the next light if I race ahead of the pack."

My mind and car were in autopilot, ready to go when suddenly my trance was broken by an unforgettable sight. A young couple, both blind, were walking arm-in-arm across this busy intersection with cars whizzing by in every direction. The man was holding the hand of a little boy, while the woman was clutching a baby sling to her chest, obviously carrying a child. Each of them had a white cane extended, searching for clues to navigate them across the intersection.

Initially I was moved. They were overcoming what I felt was one of the most feared handicaps - blindness. "Wouldn't it be terrible to be blind?" I thought. My thought was quickly interrupted by horror when I saw that the couple was not walking in the crosswalk, but was instead veering diagonally, directly toward the middle of the intersection. Without realizing the danger they were in, they were walking right smack into the path of oncoming cars. I was frightened for them because I didn't know if the other drivers understood what was happening.

As I watched from the front line of traffic (I had the best seat in the house), I saw a miracle unfold before my eyes. Every car in every direction come to a simultaneous stop. I never heard the screech of brakes or even the peep of a car horn. Nobody even yelled, "Get out of the way!" Everything froze. In that moment, time seemed to stand still for this family.

Amazed, I looked at the cars around me to verify that we were all seeing the same thing. I noticed that everyone's attention was also fixed on the couple. Suddenly the driver to my right reacted. Craning his head out of his car, he yelled, "To your right. To your right!" Other people followed in unison, shouting, "To your right!"

Never skipping a beat, the couple adjusted their course as they followed the coaching. Trusting their white canes and the calls from some concerned citizens, they made it to the other side of the road. As they arrived at the curb, one thing struck me - they were still arm-in-arm.

I was taken aback by the emotionless expressions on their faces and judged that they had no idea what was really going on around them. Yet I immediately sensed the sighs of relief exhaled by everyone stopped at that intersection.

As I glanced into the cars around me, the drive on my right was mouthing the words, "Whew, did you see that?!" The driver to the left of me was saying, "I can't believe it!" I think all of us were deeply moved by what we had just witnessed. Here were human beings stepping outside themselves for a moment to help four people in need.

I have reflected back on this situation many times since it happened and have learned several powerful lessons from it. The first is: "Slow down and smell the roses." (Something I had rarely done up until then.) Take time to look around and really see what is going on in front of you right now. Do this and you will realize that this moment is all there is, more importantly, this moment is all that you have to make a difference in life.

The second lesson I learned is that the goals we set for ourselves can be attained through faith in ourselves and trust in others, despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

The blind couple's goal was simply to get to the other side of the road intact. Their obstacle was eight lines of cars aimed straight at them. Yet, without panic or doubt, they walked forward until they reached their goal.

We, too, can move forward in attaining our goals, putting blinders on to the obstacles that would stand in our way. We just need to trust our intuition and accept the guidance of others who may have greater insight.

Finally, I learned to really appreciate my gift or sight, something I had taken for granted all too often.

Can you imagine how different life would be without your eyes? Try to imagine for a moment walking into a busy intersection without being able to see. How often we forget the simple yet incredible gifts we have in our life.

As I drove away from that busy intersection, I did so with more awareness of life and compassion for others than I had arrived there with. Since then I have made the decision to really see life as I go about my daily activities and use my God-given talents to help others less fortunate.

Do yourself a favor as you walk through life; Slow down and take the time to really see. Take a moment to see what is going on around you right now, right where you are. You may be missing something wonderful.

Jeffrey Michael Thomas

Tone Deaf

Are Some People Really Tone Deaf?

All you have to do is listen to Billy and his wife sing in the car and you will know that the answer is yes.

Tone deafness is the inability to recognize musical tones or reproduce them. It is also called amusia or dysmelodia. This can occur after a traumatic brain injury, but it can also be present from birth. Congenital amusia is the most common term used for tone deafness that is present from birth.

If you want to read about the first reported case of tone deafness, just go to the 1878 journal Mind and read Grant-Allen's article "Note-Deafness." The article describes the case of a thirty-year-old man who took music lessons as a child, but was completely unable to carry a tune or recognize familiar melodies.

Congenital amusia is similar to a learning disability. Patients do not have any brain injury, hearing loss, or other cognitive deficit.

The other end of the spectrum is perfect pitch or absolute pitch, the ability to recognize a pitch without any external reference. Perfect pitch is thought to involve both genetic and environment factors.

*** From the Authors of the #1 New York Times Bestseller....

My Love

Yo dearie sand, this is the one I were talking about...
Try this version ;)
Good luck!

Beautiful voice

Nice songs to share ;)

Unexpected

That was the 3rd time I tried to bake...
I was over confident that it's going to be GOOD!
But, it turned out to be...THAT!
Too much of butter as you could see in the photo...

Taste was good, smell was great...
But, arg....
It is not healthy to eat it...
Forgive me for I have to dispose of you, little cake...

It's about trying and learning...
That's what my cute daddy said to me...
Keep trying and learn from mistakes...
You failed but you have learned...

I gotta admit that I'm not someone that is so into neither cooking nor baking...
But, I don't hate doing that at least...
Well, not yet...
Haa....

So, enjoy viewing the cake!
The total failure...
LOL :))))))))))))))

Give it a try in whatever you do!
Life's short.
Have fun.

Learning To Bake

It probably does not look delicious to you at all...
Anyhow, that was my first cake - Lemon Butter Cake.
I had put too much flour (wrong measurement)! :p
It's edible, OK!
And it smells good too :p
Too sweet for me though...
Will cut down the sugar in future...

And, this is my second cake - plain butter cake ^^
Just baked it an hour ago...
Sure the texture is a lot softer..
This Smart Cooker is really fun to use...