Why dog’s smile brings more joy than human’s

Spicy take: we only like dogs because they’re authentic

Im in a metro train. There’s a dog in front of me. Kind of cute. Every person that enters stares at him and smiles. The dog smiles back, shows curiosity and joy.

What would happen if an adult person did that? Smiled broadly and welcomed people on a train.

Thought 1 – they’re drunk/high/mentally unwell.

Thought 2 – they want something from me.

I realized it’s the authenticity that’s missing.

I had a pleasure to join my teachers clown session last week and you know what? When humans genuinely smile at you, with no agenda, it’s more beautiful than any dog could ever be.

(and no offense to dogs, I adore vast majority of them)

I saw people dancing, enjoying themselves, while looking me in the eyes and it’s just pure magic. Being able to see authentic joy in the eyes of another person is priceless. I had tears in my eyes just watching.

Problem with humans is that when we smile… well… most often it doesn’t mean anything specific.

We smile, because we want others to feel good.

We smile, because it feels appropriate.

We smile, because we’re uncomfortable.

We smile, because we want to persuade someone to trust us.

We smile to hide the sadness.

And yeah, we smile when we genuinely smile, but it’s so rare to see humans genuinely smile to each other with no agenda, that I think as humanity we kind of lost how beautiful and special it is.

My point here is – when you genuinely feel happy about something – share it! And not on social media, though if that’s your thing, do it too. But just look people in the eyes and smile.

It can be scary, but it’s the most beautiful thing you can do. Think about the dog bringing joy to so many with just being itself and smiling. You can do that too, or more!