There is always the sun behind the clouds. Living happily. Tatiana Grafova
you are not yet ready for change, better close this book.
Put it aside till better times.
There is right time for everything under the sun.
Maybe your time has not come yet.
Or you have to find another way.
Well… if you have not yet thrown this book away into the nearest dustbin,
If you are still reading it …
No matter where you are now …
Even if you are in an overcrowded bus and are already late for the University or for work, close your eyes for one moment and say to yourself – under your breath but clearly and with feeling and conviction: “I want to be happy and I will be happy, by all means!
Nothing and nobody can stop me and stand in my way.
I’m setting out on my road to happiness right here and now.
This very minute.
This very second”.
Are you ready?
Then say these words and smile!
Yes, smile to yourself, smile at yourself and at the whole world around you.
Right here and now.
Why?
Because smile is the first commandment of a happy woman.
Chapter one
The magic of a smile
Share your smile with others and it will return to you many times.
If you want life to smile at you, first give it your good mood as a gift.
If you are at home now, come up to the mirror.
Look yourself in the eyes, smile and say to your own reflection: “You are so pretty, clever, kind … (I don’t have to tell you about yourself. You know your own strong points and what a wonderful person you really are much better than anybody else).
I love you and accept you the way you are.
You deserve happiness and all the very best in life”.
But I must warn you: It may not work the first time.
I, too, found it a difficult thing to do at first.
Why so?
The answer is very simple.
It is because some of us have forgotten (or perhaps have never learnt) what it means to love ourselves.
But we are going to talk about that a little later in the book.
No matter where you are at the moment,
Even if you are in an overcrowded metro train during the peak of the rush hour,
Balancing on one foot and holding on to the rail with one hand and clutching this book in the other, all the same, smile!
Smile to yourself, smile at yourself and at the people around you.
I can hear some of you saying, “What is she talking about?! Is she crazy?
I will look like an idiot!”
Don’t think about what others might think of you.
Do you really care about what others might think of you?
We are now talking about you and your own happiness!
But if you still feel a little doubtful, I’ll tell you about one episode from my life.
An episode from my life
It happened a long time ago, when I was a University student.
Imagine a nasty day.
It has been raining non-stop since early morning and it is still drizzling with rain.
My mood is just as gloomy and hopeless as the weather.
I get off the bus into the grey joyless mist.
I make several steps forward.
Out of the corner of my eye I can see my bus slowly starting to move …
It is catching up with me and is about to pass me by when…
For reasons beyond my knowledge or understanding I raise my head … and meet the eyes of the bus-driver.
He is a handsome young fellow, a total stranger.
I see him for the first time in my life.
And he is smiling at me.
Suddenly and unexpectedly …
I can’t really explain why or how…
I return his smile and …
A miracle happens!
All of a sudden I feel absolutely and unconditionally happy.
My morning sadness and depression have both vanished into the thin rainy air.
They are gone with the wind.
I square my shoulders and raise my chin.
I feel beautiful and cloudlessly happy.
I never met this bus-driver again.
I don’t even clearly remember his face.
But there is something I remember perfectly well up to the present day:
It is the amazing feeling of total bliss that I felt when he smiled at me and I smiled back at him.
As simple as that!
Just one smile – as a gift from heaven.
A stranger’s smile and my smile in return.
And on the nastiest day of the year there was bright sun shining in my heart.
I was in a very good mood the whole of that day.
I felt as if I had suddenly grown wings and could fly.
It was almost like walking on air.
Whatever I did, went smoothly and perfectly.
Many years have passed since that day.
But even now when I feel sad, I go back in time and recollect that smile.
As a very special gift from the past.
And what is even more important – I can see it in my mind’s eye.
I can relive in my heart the feeling of happiness that I experienced at that moment.
And this nice and warm feeling comes back to me again.
On that cloudy and nasty day I understood and felt from the very bottom of my heart what people mean when they talk about the magic of a smile.
Since that unforgettable day these words are no longer simply a figure of speech for me.
Not just words with no meaning behind them.
They are a reminder of a miracle.
A memory that is always with me and has become part of my soul, as my secret token of good luck.
The song sung by a well-known Russian actress Ludmila Gurchenko in the film “The Carnival” has the following words:
If you leave home with a frown on your face,
If the sunny day doesn’t make you happy,
Let a total stranger smile at you as if you were his friend.
And