The Lux of a Simple Smile

I am pretty sure you are wondering what the word Lux has to do with a smile. For those of us studying engineering and other fields that require analysis of light, we may have come across it and understand it as regards light. Yet I’m pretty sure the only time most of us came across it was the discovery of the brand name- ‘Lux’ for soap. I am trying to imagine how many of us wanted to know why the word used for the soap was Lux. Did you bother to look up the meaning of the word? Honestly , I didn’t and I doubt you did either.
Lux is basically a measure of the illumination of a surface or an area depending on the light energy radiated by a point source of light per second per unit solid angle in a given direction. That’s a bit technical right? I may have lost you over there. So, in simple English, Lux is a measure of how intense a particular source of light energy is at a point. This time I believe I have you on board.
The word ‘ Lux’ was used for soap perhaps to show just how brilliant your skin will get by making a purchase of that soap. Now, I believe your next question will be, “so why is she using Lux to relate to a smile? “. Well, well, well, the answer is pretty simple. But let me take you back a decade or two.
Taking a look at Mona Lisa, critics worldwide have tried to understand why it was such a famous painting. And upon research, one of the possible answers was that, the Mona Lisa had a very unique smile- a quintessence of ambiguity.
Believe me when I tell you that scientists have proved that a smile is the symbol that is rated with the highest positive emotional content. And without question, I totally agree. Going a bit deeper into brain neurology we must understand that smiling stimulates our brain’s reward mechanisms in a way that even a bar of chocolate cannot match. Truth be told, the very same thing that happens to your brain if you were handed 16,000 pounds is what happens when you smile. Weird right?
When you see a loved one or a long lost friend, your brain feels good as and tells you to smile and then we smile to make the brain feel good. This experience of excitation of the brain is synonyms to how your brain feels when you exercise. A smile is very therapeutic as it stimulates brain cells to become more active and would allow you live a longer happier and fuller life. And how much does it cost you ? Absolutely nothing. But let’s not forget that a fake smile is easily detected for it does not reach the eyes,it stays only at the corners of the lips. And a smile is like a light ray, we tend to reflect or resonate other people’s smiles. So you give a fake smile and a fake one is given back to you- kind of like the law of Karma. So, choose to smile genuinely, and you would realize all around you the reflection of genuine smiles.
Come to think of it, have you ever wondered why you are so excited when you hang around kids? Truth of the matter is that an average child smiles close to 400 times a day whilst an average happy adult smiles about 40 times a day. These statistics are unbelievable right? But it is absolutely true. As we grow, we tend to find little reason to smile or declare our joyous status while kids are fascinated about any and every new thing they see or touch or even hear about.
This whole tall story leads us to the explanation of one thing; the Lux of a smile. The Lux of a smile is the measure of the intensity of your smile towards life and everything in it. When you wake up, be enthused about being up, joyous about the brilliance of the sun, prance about when you see a loved one. If for nothing at all, count it brain exercise and savor every good sweet moment in your life. As you step out, don’t forget to radiate the brilliance of the sun in your smile. You never know, the sun just may be jealous and decide to shine brighter for you. Really? Yes, really. You never know.