Why can’t people smile more often?

This is a little rant.  I find it annoying when people treat their smiles like it is gold or something.  Their faces look like they have some bad stroke and both sides of their cheeks can’t move, their eyes can’t light up, their lips can’t open enough to show their teeth and their body tense.

There was this place I went to last Saturday and there were these people that I met.  I know that they are a lot nicer, holier, helpful-ler, kinder (add  more niceties and superlatives here) but that doesn’t give them the superiority over me, ok?  Just because you are doing something, you spend more of your time doing it and I am not, it doesn’t make you better than me, ok?

So, I went to two of them and told them that I need their favour for something.  Hey, the most you can do is to give me a smile, tell me where to go, wish me something nice in return for my smiles and my earnest request for their help.  But nooooo….they give me this sour face, look like I am imposing on them and muttered something that I couldn’t quite get it.  Tiu lor, as if I am asking the prison wardens to see someone in prison like that.

The reasons I approached them is because I respect their positions and hence, think it is appropriate I ask them instead of barging around on my own.  But do they appreciate it?  Do they know that parents like me look up to them and highly praise them for their dedications?  No…they always have this sour face.  And reluctance to be nice.  Chey….if I ready found you so unfriendly and unapproachable,  how do you think I want to be part of your group?
My rant is – For God’s sake, smile more!  Loosen up a bit.  Laugh louder.  Act a bit  sillier.  And the world is a better place.

So, everybody….SMILE!

27 thoughts on “Why can’t people smile more often?

  1. I get this all the time as well. Very frustrating to be treated like this, right? I on the other hand, smile a lot. But becuz of that, some people said I’m sot sot one cuz always smile, even to strangers. And these comments came from those who doesn’t smile! Hmph! Figures..

  2. JACQ – Hahaha, sot-sot-tei? Never mind lah, at long as got males smile back can liao. Females find it hard to smile with females hor?

    fire80 – 🙂

  3. Me, i’ll definitely turn around and ask Gordon to give them a nice smile when we leave. Like a sick reminder to get them to loosen up and smile a lil bit lah. nothing to lose wat…

  4. Samm – Ya, I find it spooky why some ppl cannot even return the cute smile wan wor….Scary lor, wonder what went wrong in their life until lost the ability to smile.

  5. Australians are generally a friendly lot. Even the cashier at the supermarket will smile and ask about your day no matter how tired they are! 😀

  6. I smiles often that resulted my 4 year old smiles all the time. Smiles are infectious in a way to children. My youngest one rarely smile for free unless provoked or bribed. I can’t smile when I doing Schwinn cycling work out in the gym – so painful, how to smile? Today I went to yoga class for 1st time, no one smile back at me, I wondering I’m not welcome or just being stupid looking. If yoga is so unhappy one (not as nerve wrecking as cycling class) why ppl want to attend? I still don’t get them…

  7. gosh
    Now a day in Malaysia, especially urban area
    police don’t smile
    bank teller don’t smile
    Custom don’t smile
    Taxi driver don’t smile
    Bus driver don’t smile
    Low rank government officer don’t smile
    high rank government officer don’t smile
    Politikus prefer to act crying

    When I went to Bangkok,
    Tutu rider smile at me
    Street hawker smile at me
    Shopping mall sales person smile at me
    Even the street performer and his elephant smile at me

    That must be something wrong with our country.

    ven elephant smile at me.

  8. last sunday around 3pm i was going home from McD Greenlane hujan so lebat i got no umbrella i had to borrow an umbrella from mcD greenlane there one. i simply took 1 from the outside of mcD entrance and hope no one wud kno and put it back later after send my friend to the car. suddenly 1 man came out standing staring like mad bull mouth shut like kena paku. i went back and under the rain i asked “is it yours, sir? i’m sorry sir.”

    and he looked at me and stare and me and walked in and left me under the rain. he walked in, closed his umbrella and entered back to McD together with the wet umbrella.

    can’t he be at least courteous? ITS WAS DAMN OBVIOUS THAT IT WAS RAINING HEAVILY!!! is it because i’m dark and not chinese he wants to disgrace me in front of the drive through paying section? its raining so heavily and can’t he say “its ok?” instead of walking in just liddat?

    Penang folks i’m warning you of this dog looking face 40something year old man. he’s another b-tard who can’t even help another human. at least i’m happy to know lilian won’t do the same, right?

  9. Haha. I like you prison warden part, though it is more like : asking the prison warden to see someone outside (the prison).

    I think I have smile enough to ppl, but ppl don’t seem to smile to me. Sometimes it makes me feel … they don’t smile to me because I am bald? Sad 🙁

  10. sometimes it is not what it looks like. Two years ago, me and wifey (to be) went to shop around for Wedding Invitation cards. There is this lady in Summit USJ who operated a stall selling printing services. She did not even spoke a bit and the face is like ‘tikus mati’.
    Thot prolly its very early in the day… that’s why… anything we asked, she just pointed to the catalogues… well, after careful observation and some questions, rupa rupa nya, dia sakit gigi!!! hah hah hah… that explains…

  11. I once qued at the supermarket, gave way to one lady in her 40s with kids jumping around. Didn’t say thank you, or at least a little smile

    And one time (many in fact) holding the elevator, same result.

    Or, or hear this, i said thank you and smile to the toll booth operator, she thot i was flirting and gave me a finger

  12. Well, that explains why our country is practically third-world. Go everywhere also see people’s face like they are attending funeral or something, of course people don’t like to deal or have any business to do with us lar…

    But there’s this ONE place that everybody is smiling and the service is damn good! INLAND REVENUE DEPARTMENT! They have to do that because WE are paying taxes! And they will explain everything to the detail until you understand. Other places ler, when you ask a simple question they will give you face that’s longer than bittergourd and say ‘Tak tau’ even though it is obvious that the word written on their desk read ‘ENQUIRY’. Of course, this is what happened at the departments at my hometown. I don’t know about other places.

    By the way, if next time you encounter such thing again hor, auntie, smiling back at them is useless wan. Just remember this: It takes 52 muscles to pull a sour face but it only takes 4 muscles to hold your middle finger up…LOL

  13. err…maybe they kena cabut gigi..so very pain..kenot smile leh….!! 😉 ..that’s what happened to me..sorry to everyone out there for my el-grouchyness!

  14. maybe they have their own personal problems to deal with. my puppy just died yest, hell, i dont feel like smiling either; no matter how radiant u smile back at me

  15. 🙂 I’ve got the song for this.. hmmm..I’m in my song mode for the day 😛

    Smile though your heart is aching
    Smile even though it’s breaking
    When there are clouds in the sky, you’ll get by
    If you smile through your fear and sorrow
    Smile and maybe tomorrow
    You’ll see the sun come shining through for you

    Light up your face with gladness
    Hide every trace of sadness
    Although a tear may be ever so near
    That’s the time you must keep on trying
    Smile, what’s the use of crying?
    You’ll find that life is still worthwhile
    If you just smile

    That’s the time you must keep on trying
    Smile, what’s the use of crying?
    You’ll find that life is still worthwhile
    If you just smile

  16. Hi Aunty Lilian, you are so right. I love to smile to people. But people seldom smile back. On the other hand, it does make the rare smile in return much more valuable! 🙂

    I blogged about this before too:

  17. You are rite, Lilian. I just don’t understand why nowadays people are like that. If you wear something very simple – lagi teruk. They see us nothing. In fact, I find that KL people mostly are like that. To me, when I go shopping I want to be more casual and I don’t like to dress up too much – simple n easy for me to move around. If you walk to those branded stuff – no one want to layan us one. Maybe they think we are there to ‘kau kau chen’. Smile cost nothing but to me in return when you smile you look prettier and will make you look younger too 🙂

  18. A favorite poem by Helen Steiner Rice

    “There’s Sunshine in a Smile”

    Life is a mixture of sunshine and rain,
    Laughter and pleasure, teardrops and pain,

    All days can’t be bright, but it’s certainly true,
    There was never a cloud the sun didn’t shine through!

    So just keep on smiling whatever betide you,
    Secure in the knowledge God is always beside you,

    And you’ll find when you smile your day will be brighter
    And all of your burdens will seem so much lighter!

    For each time you smile you will find it is true
    Somebody, somewhere will smile back at you,

    And nothing on earth can make life more worthwhile
    Than the sunshine and warmth of a beautiful smile.

    – Helen Steiner Rice

  19. Jennifer, after reading that poem, I got me some fuzzy wuzzy feeling. That was nice, thank you!

    Moo, I like that the elephants smile in bangkok. Now I have images of Lumpy (Pooh’s Heffalump movie) in bangkok.

Comments are closed.