There’s no such thing as a small act of kindness – even the tiniest gesture has a ripple effect.
We don’t tend to think of smiling as giving something to someone, but it is probably the most simple yet powerful thing we can do to spread kindness and happiness around the world. Not only does it lift another’s mood – it’s contagious!
In the brain, we have an interconnected network of cells known as the Mirror Neuron System (MNS for short). It causes us to mirror the facial expressions, body movements and gestures of other people. In the presence of someone expressing negative emotion, your MNS mirrors the movements of their facial muscles. So when they frown, you frown. On the up side, this same system gives all of us the power to spread smiles all over the world! So when you smile at someone, without them even realising it, their smile muscles will be stimulated.
– David R. Hamilton, Ph.D.
