The Gift of Half a Smile

I was walking the other day, rumbling around in my thoughts. Because it was still early and quiet, I knew what was going on in my head had been hanging around from the day before. I'd been trying to release it, and well to be honest it just wasn't floating off like it could. The funny thing about this whole releasing thing is that I always want to say "yes", I would like to let it go-whatever it is. The truth is, sometimes it's just not that easy, and I'm still holding on to it for whatever reason. Hale Dwoskin states in his book that sometimes just asking the question "can you let it go?", even if the answer is no, makes enough room to allow you to release later.
So here I was standing at a corner not even realizing the full extent of how heavy and low I'm feeling. A minivan pulls up on my left and starts to turn. The man driving turns to me, masked in a hat and sunglasses, and as he passes by gives me half a smile. My immediate reaction is to smile back and WHOOSH! the release occurs. I almost laughed out loud. It made me feel so ridiculous and wonderful at the same time. I could hugged this man for his amazingly small but super walloped smile. The signal turned green and I headed across the street with a lightness I certainly didn't have but a minute before. The impact of that smile really hit me on a couple of levels, and most importantly it made me realize that even though we may have no idea the consequences of our actions sometimes, something as simple and nearly effortless as half a smile could help someone else. It certainly reassured me to think if I am genuinely feeling good, and I let that joy bubble up to my face and pour out to others (even if it's just a little bit) it could really make a difference in someone else's experience. Now that's my kind of power.