H ow many times do we smile back at the people who wish us a warm morning on a chilly day or a refreshing afternoon on a particularly stressful one? How often do we greet others on their special dates and make them feel special?

Not many, I would assume. Most put forward the lame excuse of, “I was busy”. For what? Indeed, we all are busy (or some of us pretend to be), minding our own business. But are we so busy that we do not even have enough time to say a few good words to our loved ones — people who care about us and have a special place in our lives? And have we grown so selfish that we don’t even have time for our buddies? Well, I don’t know about you but these questions make me wonder if we are missing something important in our lives.

Lure for materialistic comfort seems to have drowned the real self within us. Well, it’s not dead but has been buried due to our selfishness and never-ending hunger for power and money. In the process, we are slowly but surely losing our conscience. Thankfully, it’s never too late to change. Even doing the smallest of things right can bring back sunshine into our lives. The best way to do it: Bringing a smile on the face of someone else and making him feel better about himself, even for a fleeting second.

Imagine. It’s your birthday and you are still abed when someone close rings up to wish you many happy returns of the day. How delighted would you be? Or, your whole day has gone really bad and you feel low. Everything that could go wrong did. Then, all of a sudden, you get an SMS from a good old friend.

It’s a hilarious joke and you cannot stop smiling for the rest of the day.

Or imagine yourself in a totally strange place. Every face that passes by seems a total stranger. You feel scared, even uneasy. Out of blue, a totally unknown stranger flashes that million-dollar smile at you. How welcome would you feel instantly?

Contrary to popular belief, we don’t need big possessions to bring happiness into our lives. Small gestures of love and affection are enough for the purpose. A warm smile, a timely SMS, an e-mail reminding people that there is someone to share their ups and downs — they all matter. So much more than any of us realise.