Just Smile. - The meetinglife journal project

Once upon the time, in a far away era the one that, on history books, is known as modern age. In those years, people had stopped communicating with one another, they used to do it only through weird devices even though it could now seem pretty outdated to us, the novels, that we now read through the pages of a book, used to be read on tiny screens. Consider that, in order to arrange an appointment with somebody, they used to send text messages or emails, and that most of the books shown in the few shops left were all about tv personalities and reality shows. It used to be an era of apathy and indifference. The pleasure of having a chat with friends over a beer was gone. Even though it was an era of financial crisis, technology had won the days and nobody could live without it. There was a guy though. He was different. He didn't watch TV. Instead, he used to watch people passing by his window. He didn't read the mail through a computer. He used to write paper letters, just like we do nowadays. Switching a cell phone on was hard enough for him. On an autumnal afternoon, while trees were losing leaves, an unknown stranger lost a small, black covered notebook Since the object was not important at all, he didn't even realize that. But someone found it. the guy, attracted by that small treasure, took a look around and, when sure that nobody was looking at him, opened it. he started turning the pages handwritten by some stranger. who, as far as he could se, was still able to write something without using a keyboard. The last page though, was the one that caught his attention the most. He started pondering upon that weird simbol, as he seemed to have heard a sound from distance. at that moment, he didn't figure out what was going on, then he started seeing something different on people's faces. Did he perhaps just see them SMILE? A few steps away was already someone laughing, some put their cell phones back in their pockets, some took the earplugs off and incredulously stared at people around them. it was only then that, looking at the symbol again, he understood the meaning of it and felt his face blush. Was it perhaps the notebook? That was when he started feeling the urge to write something down on those magical pages. A smile, he wrote, is the most universally understood thing it lived in any era and it's being used in all corners of the world. No matter if you do it with your mouth, or just pressing a couple of buttons on your keyboard, a smile always acts as the glue that binds people together it's a way to express someone's self, to make up for something, I'm writing on these pages aware that someone else, some day, will do it too. I want to believe that whoever reads this notebook whoever hears this story, would want to give somebody a smile. Then, maybe, something will change. Today, every history book tells about a guy who didn't know the meaning of a smile and about that notebook which, somehow, brought the world to a new era My era. An era in which everyone is simply happier. This is for you who are listening. You who still don't know this era. I wish you could live in it one day and understand the meaning of a smile. Now you can turn on the tv, or play videogames. Or, maybe, you can spend the last few moments of technology, switching on a camera and make a video of yourself smiling Every single one of your smiles is important and, if it's not important today, it will be. Take some time for yourself and for other people learn to laugh more often and you'll see that your era will change. Send your smile as a video response. They will be collected and featured in a video by the end of the year. Thanks to MeetingLife, this notebook will travel all around the world. Can you believe that? I can hardly wait!