It is important to smile, of that there is no doubt. It is possible to 'make yourself smile' and control your own happiness. And I'm here to tell you it is sustainable.

When I sobered up I didn't smile. Or at least not much, and often at someone elses' misfortune. In the course of getting sober it was suggested to me that I could control my attitude right out of the box. My mentor suggested that if I'd had one cup of coffee and hadn't smiled that I needed to go back to bed and try it again. Literally. I have done so a number of times (maybe a couple hundred) in the last 26 years, and the change in my life is much more than the simple removal of dope and alcohol. Smiling as a default emotion is an easy skill to learn and it pays huge dividends in every aspect of my life.

I need to mention the dog. I had been better than 10 years with out a dog in my life. That ended just before Christmas. That goofy dog makes me smile at least 50 times a day. I am much the better for it.

And let the record show that you often make me smile. Thank you for that.