APAD: Beauty is power, a smile its sword

The phrase "Beauty is power, a smile its sword" is attributed to the English naturalist and philosopher John Ray. It suggests that beauty, in the broadest sense, is a source of influence, and a genuine smile is the most effective tool for wielding that influence. It implies that beauty alone is not enough; it needs the sharp, persuasive edge of a smile to make it truly impactful.

 

John Ray (1627 -1705) was known to be one of the first the English Parson-Naturalist. He was a man of principal and the world was beautiful in his eyes. He wanted to give life to the world and hence went towards the field of a Naturalist. Since his early life Ray had an interest towards plants and wanted to give life. He saw the beauty of everything and smiled at every instance of his life. 

 

- from Google with editing 

 

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I roamed with the cell signal from land to ocean, and to land again. The planes, trains, buses and trams carried us across mountains and rivers, town and cities. I met men and women, young and old in different language zones: French, German, Danish, and Swedish most recently.

 

Knowing little about these languages, but having to deal with people all the time, I found a very effective communication tool - my smile (and a nod), a genuine one, of course.  Whether asking for directions (and WC), exchanging agreement and encouragement, holding money in hand and letting the cashier take the correct amount, it never failed.  Even babies would stop/pause crying to wonder at my funny expression. 呵呵

 

And every dog I met, would let me pet them after seeing me smile (the truth:-).

 

Kindness begets kindness. A genuine smile is indeed a powerful sword, so use it when you can!

 

Wish you all a happy smiling day 微笑加油!

 

所有跟帖: 

So true indeed! -暖冬cool夏- 给 暖冬cool夏 发送悄悄话 暖冬cool夏 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 05/29/2025 postreply 07:57:13

:-)) -最西边的岛上- 给 最西边的岛上 发送悄悄话 最西边的岛上 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 05/29/2025 postreply 08:42:56

I'd say a smile is often mightier than beauty. -7grizzly- 给 7grizzly 发送悄悄话 7grizzly 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 05/29/2025 postreply 08:17:31

Yep! Beauty within lives & lives forever ;-) -最西边的岛上- 给 最西边的岛上 发送悄悄话 最西边的岛上 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 05/29/2025 postreply 08:48:46

So " beauty is only skin deep", a peace of mind being ugly -移花接木- 给 移花接木 发送悄悄话 移花接木 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 05/29/2025 postreply 11:34:32

-;))))) “ beauty comes in all shapes and sizes”, b proud of -最西边的岛上- 给 最西边的岛上 发送悄悄话 最西边的岛上 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 05/29/2025 postreply 11:59:58

self is the most beautiful thing! U got lots 2 b proud of !! -最西边的岛上- 给 最西边的岛上 发送悄悄话 最西边的岛上 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 05/29/2025 postreply 12:01:47

& we all do :-)) -最西边的岛上- 给 最西边的岛上 发送悄悄话 最西边的岛上 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 05/29/2025 postreply 12:02:52

Yup self-esteem -移花接木- 给 移花接木 发送悄悄话 移花接木 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 05/29/2025 postreply 12:14:30

That + 心灵美,Way to go !! ;-))) -最西边的岛上- 给 最西边的岛上 发送悄悄话 最西边的岛上 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 05/29/2025 postreply 12:55:10

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