A recent study by researchers at Indiana's DePauw University found that kids who smiled a lot during childhood had a significantly lower rate of divorce as adults. They studied childhood photos of 650 adults, 21 - 87 years of age. They found that those with the weakest smiles in photos from their last year of school were more than three times as likely to have been divorced.
While interesting, this is the kind of study that leaves less fortunate folks scratching their heads. If you were not a smiley kid are you destined for a life of struggle, divorce and sadness? Or do we always have the opportunity to change this destiny? Can we decide, moment by moment, to change our thoughts? Can we choose joy now?
We can choose. It may not be as easy as being that naturally smiling kid in the photo album, but it is somehow richer when the discovery of joy comes from knowing both sides and choosing joy.
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