Because I'm Happy

Today at breakfast in a Waffle House, I saw a man who reached out to me from a framed picture (he is in the left picture hung on the wall in the photo below with the broad smile.)  Probably taken years ago, the picture seems to reveal the earlier years of this establishment.  Do the same or similar pictures grace every location of this restaurant chain as part of a mandated corporate decor?  Was this a staged photo or a moment of delight captured forever?  I prefer his smile to be the latter.

I find myself wondering about him.  Where did he work?  Why is he so happy?  I wish I could sit with him and talk over a cup of coffee in one of the restaurant's booths asking these questions.  I want to share in the moment that created his glorious smile.

Smiling is such an easy thing.  Often when I am walking in a store, through a mall or along a street I smile at people for no particular reason other than to enjoy their surprise which is often followed by a hesitant smile of their own.  This is my minute contribution to the universe as I pass through life.  It is my attempt to create a moment of happiness in another human being's life.  I do this without expectation of a reward.  But in the process, I have found happiness and the song "Because I'm Happy" by Pharrell Williams begins playing in my mind.

It just so happens this song is also the ring tone on my cell phone.