You may recall that our dear friend Bijou wrote 24 new Bijouisms for our 2025 Bijou Be Well series. We released a new Bijouism for 21 days straight in May, and our community loved them.
But wait... that means there were three new Bijouisms that were not released in May...
We released one in August and, today, we release another!
Thiele writes...
"Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love." - Mother Teresa
"Smile," Bijou says. Seems simple enough...
As I sat down to write about one of the, now two, missing Bijouisms from the new deck, I couldn't help but find connections with some of Bijou's other isms. That is the magic of Bijou, though, right? His wisdoms are powerful on their own, and they amplify when paired with the others. So, let's unpack the simplicity of "Smile" alongside one of our favorite Bijouisms...
"No Mistakes" - a Bijouism that we remind ourselves of when something doesn't go to plan, when our pen slips, when our lines are shaky. This philosophy tells us to embrace the unexpected. This is not always easy to do. We naturally glance at our tile and narrow our vision to the one part of the tile that went awry. This happened to me just the other day, as I was tangling by the lake... a poke root sprouted from the "wrong" spot. I had the urge to start over. But, when my mom picked up the completed composition to admire it, she held it upside-down (although I don't know if there is really a right-side-up with any composition...), and my perspective shifted. I smiled at it and its (originally) undesired result. And as I did, I felt proud of what I made... as if my smile convinced my brain that I never even saw the misplacement of my sprouting tangle. Bijou was on to something with this 47th Bijouism... and, interestingly, science backs him up!
A smile releases endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin in the brain, which are associated with mood elevation, stress reduction, and even pain relief. And if a smile is that powerful, we should never stop smiling! Our face muscles might get a little sore... but if we can shift our thoughts by curving the corners of our mouths, that is amazing. And they say smiles are contagious (just like yawns... although, I don't appreciate this contagion as much haha), so that gives us the power to shift the thoughts of others, too. I smile, you smile, poof... negativity is gone! That means when I smile at your work, you smile at your work, and I may just convince you to appreciate each line, right?
So, sure, we can take Bijou's advice and start by embracing our "misstrokes." But can we go one step further and actually smile at them? Can we love them? Next time you find yourself gazing at your tile from an arm's length, deciding which tangle to add next, smile at it too. Just see what happens. Does your heart grow fonder for your art?
Read more about the science of smiling HERE.
Maria Vennekens on
Izzi on
Judging by old family photos, I frowned a lot as a child, even in baby pictures! My Mom always told us kids, “A smile is just a frown turned upside down, and it’s so much prettier!” Maybe part of my problem was being nearsighted? Squinting to see far away became a habit until I got my first pair of glasses in 9th grade! Years later, I was reminded of Mom’s phrase by a co-worker, who told me I should smile more often; that I always had a frown on my face. So I made a concentrated effort to smile til it became 2nd nature! Now, people tell me “I’m always smiling!” It does lift my spirits, and theirs too! But I still have a tendency to frown when concentrating: as when reading, writing, or tangling, (especially when learning a new pattern). So thank you, and Bijou, for this timely, ageless reminder to “Smile!”
JessicaLDykesCZT39 on
A Smile is indeed contagious! I also learned many years ago that a “Smile” can be heard when conversing on the phone. Try it. I worked for a manufacturer of Medical Lab equipment, supervised a group of Med. techs that did troubleshooting on phone to help Med Techs in mostly hospital labs. I always told them to “Smile”, that their smile could be felt in their voice. So when getting upset with the person at the other end of the phone; “SMILE”.
Johnifer Baker CZT41 on
Kathleen McMurtry on
Diane Harpster on