What's in a smile?

I was attending a talk by Fr JJ Fenelon last Saturday on liturgy, and something he said strike me:

At the final blessing, we are sent forth "to glorify the Lord" by our lives. Which is why even if we offer a smile or a greeting to people we meet, we are in fact passing on Christ to others.

Wow! Have you ever thought about that?

So I did an experiment: on Sunday, when I was doing my hike training, I tried smiling and greeting people whom I came across along the way. Most people either avoid eye contact or look away, but there are those who returned a smile and a greeting. I remembered in particular an old uncle whom I first came across at the Tanjong Rhu park connector, and later again at the Marina Bay area (he was cycling). He recognised me and said "hi" again the second time around.

I think many people are shy or surprised when a stranger greet them or smile at them, because it's not that common here in our country. It's kinda sad, don't you think? We should be happy to pass on a greeting - and Christ - to people we meet, be it a stranger or a schoolmate or workplace colleague whom we don't know very well.

Maybe you can start your own little "daily experiment" and share your results with us.