Mr. Smiles

I had a friend that lived by the credo: "People enter your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime."

I happen to believe this is true in many respects. However, I believe in my interpretation, not hers.

Her interpretation allowed her to live her life negatively. That life consisted of adultery, drugs and an all around recklessness towards herself and those unfortunate to be around her. This creed allowed her to live in denial, to believe that she wasn't selfish. Nothing she did could possibly be wrong because God, fate or the powers that be owed her. They would make up for the loss of her mother and the not so great childhood that was apart of her past.
People, to her, entered her life for a reason and a season; never a lifetime. She would not allow that to occur. She would make solid friendships with some only to destroy them years down the line. Then she would move and start all over again where people did not know her reputation, where they did not know her creed.
Her philosophy on life was a mutation, a deformity, a pestilence, a stain on the soul of an otherwise good person at heart.

I am proud that I believe people come into your life for a reason, a season AND a lifetime. I don't want seasonal aquaintances, I want long-lasting relationships. I want to grow older with people I love and respect. I want to remember life with them years down the line. I want to joke when we are older about the fun, crazy, stupid, emotional and outrageous memories we shared whether together or apart.
Life isn't about the reasons people come into our lives. It is about the reasons people stay in our lives. It's about the reasons there are seasons and lifetimes shared.

Almost everyone I've met has made a difference in whom I am today. Sometimes it was a negative difference but for the most part it has been a positive one. I love how random people can make me smile while having a brief chat, walking down the street or while helping them at work. The friendliness exuding from them is unequivocal. Eyes can say a lot but a smile, a genuine smile, speaks volumes. The eyes may be the window to our souls but a genuine smile is the unhinged latch. That unhinged latch allows for the possibility of something more. It allows for the contingency of hope.

Thank you Mr. Smiles for brightening my day.