Japanese are taking the help of smile coaches to smile, verses Shernaz, based on recent news – an exclusive for Different Truths.
You have heard, “A smile can go a mile,” Its transparency and innocence can beguile To tell us this, we need no scholars — “A smile can be worth a million dollars”. There are smiles, and then there are ‘smileys,’ that can get you ahead on ‘social journeys,’ And there’s, of course, the smile of Mona Lisa But this is about victims of ‘smile amnesia’. No jokes! fascinating as it sounds, this is a fact — Some Japanese, of genuine smiles, are now bereft With ‘Polite smiles’ hidden behind a masked face Genuine smiles have fallen prey to masks’ menace. Their psychological well-being at a discount And a complex they feel a great need to surmount It makes them turn to ‘smile education’ teachers Who’ll help them soften their facial features To adjust once more to living without a mask It has become for them a complicated task To relearn how to smile, they now approach Someone branded a professional ‘smile coach’.
Note: Based on an article in Business Line of May 23, 2023, by Atanu Biswas, Link: With masks off, the Japanese are relearning how to smile (thehindubusinessline.com)
Picture design by Anumita Roy
To Shernaz Wadia, reading and writing poems has been one of the means to embark on an inward journey. She hopes her words will bring peace, hope and light into dark corners. Her poems have been published in many e-journals and anthologies. She has published her own book of poems “Whispers of the Soul” and another titled “Tapestry Poetry – A Fusion of Two Minds” with her poetry partner Avril Meallem.
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What talent and intellectual focus polished by hard work!
Thank you so much, Azam ji. for this heartwarming appreciation.
Awesome ink dear shernaz!!!
The World has come to this-
we need coaches to be HAPPY
to unlearn SHABBY
to learn to SMILE
to walk a MILE
to manage STRESS
appropriately DRESS
into knowledge DIVE
to grow evolve STRIVE
in life choose to THRIVE – (Rupa Rao)
Rupa, that’s a terrific poetic response. Yes, sometimes the world appears all lost and broken but there is so much hope still. Where there are teachers to help us learn and unlearn and people aware and ready for their lessons, we must not despair. Thank you very much, my dear friend for reading and appreciating.