I like her because she smiles at me and means it.
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We have amazing powers, Girlfriends. We can change a person’s day or attitude. We can share information that helps make their life easier. We can offer encouragement when someone needs it and be there as a friend when being a good listener is the only requirement. We can offer a smile on a day when they only have tears, and be that hope for a better day.

I was reminded a lot of the power of a smile recently when I went through training to volunteer for the WORLD CHOIR GAMES – an AMAZING event that started last night in Cincinnati. (It runs through July 14th. If you can, COME TO CINCINNATI for them! It’s a wonderful event (see below) that brings together people from six continents to share music and cultures – and it’s in Cincinnati OH – the first U.S. home for it!

The World Choir Games is the Olympics of choral music. For more than a decade, the Games have united people from around the world through the power of song and in the spirit of friendly competition. Throughout the event’s history, more than 2,000 choirs have participated in competitions across Europe and Asia. In 2012, the World Choir Games is taking place in the United States for the first time ever. Hundreds of choirs and thousands of visitors have come to Cincinnati to share their cultural heritage and to celebrate our global community with music, the common language of the world.

So back to my training to be a volunteer. Yes, we were told what to wear, where to go/park, on through how to do our specific volunteer tasks. We were prepared for how to assist choirs and visitors who don’t speak English, what to do in the case of an accident or emergency, how to navigate crowds between the various venues and lots more. But, the #1 instruction repeated over and over and over again in our training was simple: Just SMILE.

Don’t know what they’re asking you? SMILE. People sitting where they’re not supposed to? SMILE. Managing tired, hot, hungry visitors? SMILE. The power of a smile. The power of a smile to cross cultures and languages. The main way we can represent our city in this amazing event – be the city that SMILES.

It’s the same with our friends. Sometimes they need a smile, or a laugh, or a hug. Those can be delivered in person, through a sweet tweet or DM (for our Twitter girlfriends), by a LIKE or comment on Facebook, in a phone call or email. Just the effort of sharing a smile, connecting with someone, letting them know that you care – that’s dang powerful.

So today your challenge, my Girlfriends, is to SMILE. Find ways to show your friends how much they mean to you. Share a smile with a stranger, give grace to those around you, smile and wave in a driver who wants in your lane, smile at your kids, your neighbors, visitors to your city.

By the way, we LOVE guest blogs here at Girlfriendology. Have a great girlfriend story to tell? Want to celebrate your fabulous female friends? SHARE! (And, we also have Girlfriend Gurus – check that out to be featured on Girlfriendology!)

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Photo by Clifford Turrell (love your work!)