Happiness never decreases by being shared…an experiment.
Background:
– We moved to Oslo,Norway in the winter of 2010 from a 30 glorious years in Sydney, Australia.
– It was one of the coldest winters recorded (or so they said in the chill of the moment)
– As a smiling happy Aussie, I was SHOCKED to find that most Norwegians avoided eye contact & looked pretty pissed off with life in general as they dragged themselves to and from work in the darkness each day (no judgement… I totally get it, it sucks)
Experiment:
– To go out of my way and risk socially inappropriate behavior to make eye contact and smile at people regardless of their surly demeanor.
– To find and create opportunities to compliment strangers if something stood out to my liking.
Results:
Although my unassuming subjects put up a bit of a fight (emotionally, not physically) and were shocked by the intensity of my efforts to smile at them, after a few seconds every single face LIT UP and they smiled right back!
My efforts to compliment were met with similar resistance which Im pretty sure stemmed again from shock, however after a few awkward seconds, their faces LIT UP (again) and they smiled, laughed, thanked me – in once memorable instance, I was thanked with an actual courtesy from a particularly fancy looking lady!
Look, if you can manage to pull of day-time fancy in an Oslo winter- respect.
It was not only the humble recipient that glowed, but also me. As you can imagine, in those suspense filled seconds of shock, my heart and lungs stopped momentarily and its always a joyous moment to have your vital organs fire up again.
___
Buddha says, “Happiness never decreases by being shared”
This I can verify is 100% truth.
But a living-on-the edge kinda truth when dealing with strangers. Sharing happiness involves taking a risk.
From my experiment, I found that exercise of sharing happiness with strangers is similar to the exercise of standing on a stage and singing your heart out… We place one of our most primal emotions out on a platter and make ourselves vulnerable in the meantime…but in that moment, that beautiful moment of hope, determination and desire to create positivity, our own personal happiness is increased.
Efforts to put a smile on someone else’s face will not only change the direction of someone else’s day, but also yours. The deep joy and satisfaction of reaching out to share your enthusiasm and positive energy is inexplicable… and guess what? Your happiness too will increase!
The challenge:
Next time you see anyone looking particularly miserable… go ahead, lick your lips (always helps pre-smile), obtain eye contact and crack the biggest smile you’ve got…
AND let me know how you go so I can add it to my “report”.
Warning: Please conduct the above in the prescribed format, licking of the lips during or after obtaining eye contact can come off a little creepy thus reducing the overall effect and to some extent, proving Buddha wrong.
Resh, Bikram Yoga Oslo 
thanks for specifying the importance of lick and smile in the right sequence. My day to day interaction with society is troubled enough as it is…
Id be lying if said I havent been burnt by action sequencing before 🙂
🙂 that was really fun to read – had a similar experience when I moved to Norway 18 years ago – smiling is possible when you live mindful and are in the moment – many people are “offline” as I call it , but very happy when you include them in your smile ❤
Im so glad you enjoyed love! Smiling is possible and so necessary- underneath all of the cold dark annoyance are an incredible bunch of people who LOVE to smile… they just need a little encouragement
I will try it in Portland. There are a lot of open smiles here already, but I am sure that if I try it on a really rainy day, it will have more of a drastic effect. This is a great experiment.
Yes!! do it in the rain! It’s nice to test your abilities to handle awkwardness regularly… Bit of a superpower if you ask me 🙂