Being a Joyful Dominican

I am brand new this school year. I do not know anyone at either the school where I study or the school where I work as a part-time social worker. One thing I have noticed is what happens when I smile. Yes, I mean smile, that simple gesture we all do occasionally. If I smile as I walk down the hall of school or on my way to class or while getting on the bus, others smile back. And, often, the next time we see each other, we will share a greeting or strike up a conversation. And, before you know it, we are having lunch together or sharing a cup of coffee. Imagine, all it took was a smile!

Saint Dominic, the founder of our Dominican Order, was known as the joyful Friar. His smile power must have been tremendous.

I never knew that there is a psychology that studies smiling. It is called gelotology. The word is from the Greek, gelos, geloto meaning laugh.

My father used to say, “smile and the world smiles with you.” Would you like to join with me in changing this often distant and fearful world of ours one smile at a time?

Sr. Peggy Ryan, OP
Milwaukee, Wisconsin