A World of Smile

About ten years ago when I was an undergraduate in college, I was
working as an intern at my University's Museum of Natural History. One
day while working at the cash register in the gift shop, I saw an
elderly couple come in with a little girl in a wheelchair.
As I looked closer at this girl, I saw that she was kind of perched on
her chair. I then realized she had no arms or legs, just a head, neck
and torso. She was wearing a little white dress with red polka dots.
As the couple wheeled her up to me I was looking down at the register.
I turned my head toward the girl and gave her a wink. As I took the
money from her grandparents, I looked back at the girl, who was giving
me the cutest, largest smile I have ever seen. All of a sudden her
handicap was gone and all I saw was this beautiful girl, whose smile
just melted me and almost instantly gave me a completely new sense of
what life is all about. She took me from a poor, unhappy college
student and brought me into her world; a world of smiles, love and
warmth.
That was ten years ago. I'm a successful business person now and
whenever I get down and think about the troubles of the world, I think
about that little girl and the remarkable lesson about life that she
taught me.