I have written often about the power of a smile to make a difference and, if I were writing a book on what it takes to make a difference in this world, step one would be — it begins with a smile.

Yesterday, I went to the grocery store to buy some things for a Canada Day dinner I was preparing for my daughter, her boyfriend and some friends. At the deli counter, the woman behind the counter was efficient and courteous. But she didn’t smile. Don’t get me wrong. She said all the right things. “What can I get you?” “Will there be anything else?” “Have a nice day.”… But, there was no smile. I felt, cheated. Unseen. As if, she was going through the motions, being in service, but not ‘of service’. Not connected to the act of ensuring every customer had a good experience shopping there.

At the check out it was a different story. The young woman ringing through the groceries was also efficient and courteous — and she smiled. Her smile made all the difference. The man in front of me left with a smile, and the man behind me, whom I let go before me as he only had two items to my several, also left smiling. As did I. And we were smiling because the cashier shared her smiles and good spirits generously and effortlessly. “What are you doing this Canada Day,” she asked the man in front of me. And he told her about the BBQ he was hosting with his wife for his 75-year-old mother whose birthday coincides with Canada’s Birthday. “Wish her Happy Birthday from me too!” she asked him as he collected his bag and took his change.

When it was my turn, she commented on my letting the man behind me go through first. “That was nice,” she said.

It is the fact she was present, paying attention and connecting with the customers through her smile that made all the difference.

On Friday, I met a girlfriend for a movie. As I stood in line to purchase popcorn (I can’t go to a movie without it even though I only eat a few handfuls — it is so part of the ritual!), a man in the line next to me looked at me and said, “I know you. You work at the shelter. You taught me a course and helped me with my speech.” I remembered him immediately and chatted about those days in his life when he found himself, homeless, jobless, penniless and lost.

“I’m doing great now,” he told me. He’s had a good job for the past two years, rents an apartment in a neighbourhood he likes and is saving for a trip.

We laughed and smiled and when I reached the counter and ordered my popcorn and water the young man behind the counter commented on how ‘happy’ I was. “I have no reason not to be happy,” I told him.”I’m meeting one of my best friends for a movie, it’s a long weekend and the sun is shining.”

We joked and chatted and as I took my goodies he invited me to come back, anytime. “It’s nice to see someone smile. You make me feel happy too!”

Try it. Spend today sharing smiles where ever you go. Consciously pay attention, connect with the people around you and see what a difference smiling makes in your day and the world around you.

Making a difference in the world is easy when we SMILE!

I realise that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone. Edith Cavell

I am Canadian. I don’t wear my flag on my sleeve or have it tattooed on my chest just above my heart. I keep my patriotism tucked inside my back pocket between the pages of a well-worn blue leather passport stamped with the Canadian shield. My identity is forged in the hard rock of this nation carved out of the mighty forests and stones and ice that once covered this great land. I don’t roar. I don’t leap tall buildings and plant flags upon every roof. I don’t scream out ‘my country, oh my country’ from river valleys and mountain peaks.

I wear my patriotism quietly. Serenely. I wear it as my badge. Of honour. Of respect. Of duty. I don’t seek out confrontation. I don’t seek out fame. I seek to be a peacekeeper, a mediator, a consensus maker. I seek to find the common ground, the peaceful way. I seek to find that place where we can live together, in harmony, side-by-side, creating a mosaic of our faith, our cultures, our traditions.

No matter what I do, or how I do it. No matter my state of grace, of war or peacetime, I state my patriotism quietly and unequivocally. I am of Canada. True north strong and free. I am Canadian and I am proud of my country.

It is Canada Day. A day for every Canadian, where ever they be to stand tall, to stand proud, to state with conviction and pride, I am Canadian.

And no… I am not a beer.

And I’m not American either, eh!

That’s the thing about we Canadians. We take our nationhood with a grain of barley. We water it down with the sweetness of self-effacing maple sugar and gobble it up in a beaver tail. We know who we are not, but defining who we are — we shirk labels in Canada. We shy away from speaking up about the greatness that defines us and prefer to stand in the shadows of our neighbours to the south.

I am Canadian, eh! And proud of it.

Sure some of us sit on the ice in the dead of winter, swilling Canadian Club and singing, ‘I’m a lumberjack and I’m ok’ while dangling a line into a hole in the freezing water below in the hopes of hooking the big one.

And yes, some of us really do live in igloos and ride dog sleds to school or high-powered Ski-doos.

But no matter where we live, or what sport we play, or vehicle we drive, being Canadian means living peacefully under the sheltering colour of the maple leaf forever.

I am Canadian.

Liberated. Free.

I have the right to vote and the freedom to express my opinion without fearing for my life.

I drive on the right side of the road. I have a car. I have a home. I have a job that I love. I have the right to oppose my government. I have the right to speak out and to run for office if I so choose.

I don’t carry a gun. I carry a passport that promises me safe passage anywhere in the world I choose to go.

Because, as a Canadian I have choice.

Being Canadian is not about not being American. Being Canadian is about claiming my right to live in a country where tolerance and justice share equal voice with compassion and the right to a fair defence.

We don’t have the death penalty in Canada. I’m proud of that.

I am Canadian and I am proud to celebrate Christmas and Easter. I am proud my neighbour is free to celebrate Hanukkah or Ramadan.

I am Canadian means I live in a land where the tapestry of nations woven together in our vast and varied lands creates a rich and vibrant world of colour. It is stitched together across a land where every voice is equal. Every individual has value.

I am Canadian and I stand proud before the Maple Leaf, shoulder to shoulder with my brothers and sisters, no matter our skin colour, no matter our religious beliefs or cultural practices as we sing loud and clear, “O Canada, my home and native land.”

And then I realize in my oh so Canadian conscience that the very words of our national anthem deny the truth of one-third of our population who do not claim Canada as their ‘native land’.

Oh dear. Best we change the words so everyone feels they belong in this amazing land called Canada.

I am Canadian. And more than proud, I am tolerant and accepting of all who call this land their home, no matter where they were born. It is the Canadian way.

And…. as promised, here’s a unique version of Oh Canada! by rapper Classified

Saturday dawns clear and sunny, blue skies soaring above, just as heroes soar through everyday.

While C.C. and I were in the Russian Valley River wine country, we happened upon a concert in the town square. We were quickly befriended by Bill and Mary and Tony and Gail and their friends and became part of an exceptional evening of fun and laughter and good times under a canopy of leaves and a sky turning peacock to indigo. The warmth and welcome we were extended made my heart soar.

Strangers who embrace travellers to make them feel welcome in their town are heroes!

Chatting with Tony at the concert last Tuesday night he shared his recent appointment to the Goodwill board of directors in the Healdsburg area. He excitedly told me all about their good works, and his efforts to assist them in raising funds for the many important initiatives they undertake to create a great community for everyone. His excitement was contagious, and his passion inspiring.

Tony and all those who take the time to sit on boards and committees to guide charities in their work and to create great communities are heroes.

My brother-in-law Jim recently became a member of the Hospitality Committee for the Calgary Stampede. He is one of 5,000 volunteers who make Stampede work every year. Like so many, Jim contributes his time to ensure visitors and spectators have the time of their life — not only during the hottest ten days of summer when the Stampede is staged, but also throughout the year. Jim flips pancakes, greets visitors, stages cowboy dramas and does whatever it takes to ensure no one is left out of the festivities.

Jim and all those who volunteer to make the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth – the Calgary Stampede — happen every year are heroes!

Who are your heroes? These are just some of mine that I’ve encountered over the past week. Care to share yours? If nothing else, why not let them know — You’re a hero! You’ll definitely make a difference in their life.

Happy Canada Day Weekend to my fellow Canadians!  Hope it’s a blast!

And…. because it is a national holiday here in Canada — our Canada Day weekend, I’ll be sharing a video about Canada each day.

Here are the Arrogant Worms singing I am Canadian! And yes! the Arrogant Worms are heroes too — they rock!

It is interesting some days, to look back on my day and wonder… where did I make a difference?

It’s not that I don’t, or you don’t, always make a difference. We do. Our presence in this world is the difference we make every day. And that’s the relevance of our difference. Did I consciously chose harmony over discord, joy over sadness, laughter over tears, gentleness over brutishness, peace over anger, no matter the circumstances unfolding around me?

Everyday we have the opportunity to take small steps, make little gestures, choose small significances that will make a difference in the world beyond our own state of being. Like holding open the door for  someone, or smiling at a stranger, or complimenting the checkout guy at the coffee shop, or letting a driver merge into traffic with a smile and a soft heart — those moments exist throughout our day. It is in choosing the road of harmony and openness that I make a difference within me — and from that state of being at peace within, my ripple becomes an echo of peace all around me.

It is easy to forget sometimes that peace is out there, everywhere, waiting to be made by each of us. That no matter how discordant our heartbeat in any moment, peace is waiting to be embraced by the choices we make. We can move anger up, or down, a notch. We can slow down our temper by giving way to our heart’s calling to be ‘at peace’ within our being in the harmony and flow of life without discord stirring up the muddy waters of our thinking — ‘it’s not my fault’, it’s them not me, I deserve…. I didn’t… I won’t…. I can’t help myself….

Every day I have the opportunity to make peace, or not. To choose harmony, or not.

Some days, I’m more aware than others. Some days, fear, pain, self-concern, self-protection and other limiting beliefs fog up my thinking with their litany of reasons why I don’t need to act in peace.

Like yesterday when I didn’t let that man merge because I didn’t like the way he drove up the right lane knowing it ended just ahead and he would have to merge, I am not creating ripples of harmony and peace. I am contributing to the discord around me.

Perhaps, in those instances where I don’t understand why ‘they’ can’t merge two blocks before like I did, I might want to ask myself, ‘why do we all merge two blocks early when the road is designed to have us merge up ahead?’ Perhaps it is the fact none of us trust other drivers to let us in that we then create an environment of distrust where those who use the road as designed are then accused of being pushy drivers?

When I stop to change my glasses, when I let go of my preconceived notions of right versus wrong, my way versus yours, I see there is a different way to see the world around me. I see that I contribute to the discord, and the harmony in all things.

All things are connected. We are all connected. And on that road, I created a thread of discord simply by my judgments and perceptions of ‘what was wrong’ with someone else.

There are thousands of opportunities everyday where I can chose to ‘be right’ or I can choose to let my difference be one of harmony, peace, love and joy simply by letting go of my judgments and letting my thoughts and actions be the difference I want to create in the world around me.

Today, let all my actions, thoughts and way of being create harmony, peace, love and joy.

My internet at home is down once again. Shaw tells me it’s a ‘glitch’ in the neighbourhood and should be fixed by July 2.  I will experience interrupted service, they tell me.

Hmmm….. interrupted currently means ‘no service at all’.

Which also means, no blog today until I get time to take my laptop and sit in a coffee shop and write. It makes a difference to have the convenience of internet at home — I am so blessed by what I have in my life!

Not having internet is not a hardship — just an early morning meeting at 7:30 and now a day of work — I won’t be writing until later.

In the interim — have a day of making a difference — I plan on it!

We had no intention of attending an outdoor concert. Or eating dinner beneath a canopy of trees,, the fresh air and California sunlight caressing our skin in a warm inviting blanket. And we definitely had no intention of meeting some of the nicest, most welcoming people yet — but there we were, in the midst of a regular Tuesday night happening in Healdsburg, connected into a circle of friends who welcomed us like long lost companions, taking part in their Tuesday night ritual.

The only thing we had predicted  at the start of our day was that we’d end up in Healdsburg for a late lunch. The rest was up to the wine gods and the curve of the road. Turning off of River Road onto Westside Rd, we drove  along the Russian River, wine country laid out before us. We stopped at wineries and olive groves, sampling and enjoying  eachother’s company and the welcoming smiles of the merchants along the route.

In Healdsburg, it was obvious something was happening in the town square when at 2pm, we parked our car and were almost bowled over by people rushing to set up camp with blankets and lawn chairs on the grass of the square. “It’s live music Tuesday from 6 to 8 pm”, one helpful local told us before rushing past to stake out his claim on the grass before the bandshell.

Undecided, we went for lunch, wandered the streets and decided to find a goodwill store so we could purchase a blanket and pillows — in case we decided to stay for the concert or go to the beach for a sunset dinner.

It was Bill who convinced us to stay. “This is way better than the beach,” he told us when I asked if it was worth staying for. Bill is retired . It’s his Tuesday afternoon ‘job’ to stake out turf for anywhere from 10 to 25 friends who turn up for their Tuesday night picnic supper.

C.C., ever eager to hear live music, suggested we stay and I went off in search of a picnic, and wine glasses while he stayed back to hold our spot under the trees.

When I returned, Tony and Mary had arrived to join Bill and C.C. was part of the circle.

And thus began an evening we will never forget. By the time the music started at 6, we were part of a large circle of friends. By the time the music ended at 8, we had promises of visitors for the Calgary Stampede — winemaker John may even turn up next week to take in the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.

Here’s hoping he does. Here’s hoping Bill and Mary and Tony and Gail and all the others who opened their picnic baskets and their hearts with such grace do come north to sample some western hospitality.

While their show of generosity of spirit will be hard to beat, it would be fun to try to extend it.

They all made an incredible difference to the texure and tone and depth of our last night in this little piece of paradise in the Sonoma wine valley. By opening thier circle to  two strangers,  they created memories that will lat our lifetime, and I’m hoping friendships too.

Extending a smile and a welcome to strangers makes a difference.

I am grateful for the difference they have made. I am grateful  for the time spent laughing and sharing and eating and smiling under the trees ona summer evening in Healdsburg.

Oh! And the music wasn’t  bad either. At least, I think there was music. Amidst all the fun and laughter, it was hard to tell!   🙂

We see them everywhere we go. In coffee shops and line-ups. In stores and on the streets. They’re waiting for us at the B&B we’re staying at, and at the wineries we’ve visited and in the restaurants we’ve frequented.

Smiles.

They sure make a difference.

And yesterday, our smiles were as wide as the ocean stretching out to the west, flowing all the way to China. Our smiles were deep, like the roots on the Redwood trees we  wandered amongst in  Armstrong Forest where we ate two sublimely delicious sandwiches from the Big Bottom Grill in Guernville.

Stopping there to pick -up a picnic lunch before exploring the Woods was the recommendation of the vintner at Arista Wineries, a small family run business on the East Side of the Russian River. They only  make five kinds of sandwiches, he told us earlier in the day as we stood at the bar and sipped on some of the house speciality — Pinot Noir and a desert wine/sauterne varietal to die for.

“I’ve tried three of their five sandwiches and each one was the best sandwich I’ve ever had in my life,” he said with enthusiasm, and a smile.

My curry chicken sandwhich may not have been “the best” sandwich I’ve ever eaten, but sitting at a picnic table beneath giant Redwoods, the wun filtering through the branches in dancing waves of light and shade was definitely one of the more suul-filling moments in recent memory.

This place is heaven on earth — I wrote about its relationship to Eden on my Recover Your Joy blog last night. (http://recoveryourjoy.blogspot.com/2012/06/in-wine-country.html ) and about the delightful couple and their friend we met at Arista who shared many smiles and laughter both there and at Iron Horse Wineries where we met up to share a sip or two of bubbly – all of which made our smiles brighter still.

Even Shannon, the 13 year-old resident cat at the Sonoma Orchid Inn where we are staying, wears a perpetual smile, albeit a tad smug. He doesn’t have to do anything for his living. Just lay about in the sun. “He doesn’t even mouse,” said Brian our affable Inn host. “But he makes our guests smile, and that’s what it’s all about.”

And he’s right. Smiles make the day feel oh so right.  I think it might be why the sun feels as though it shines brighter here  — it’s reflecting off all the smiles everywhere!

And what a beautiful day full of smiles it was yesterday. Roof down, sun above, trees forming a leafy canopy above our heads, we drove along country roads, up into the hills, along vineyards and olive groves and old forests. In Armstrong Woods the Parker Tree stretches 81 feet into the sky and is estimated to be 1300 years old. Imagine all the smiles it’s created on the visitors who have stood beneath its towering shade and felt the rich soils of the past beneath their feet.

We are all smiles in this magical place and loving every moment of it

Today, we’re off to visit more vineyards and to taste Olive  Oils along Burgundy Road. C.C. has a yearning to visit Caliistoga where we’ll hopefully find a late lunch delight and then who knows what the  day will bring..

My favourite kind of travelling. No concrete plans. No destination in mind. Just freeform exploring of what the land has to offer, and plenty of smiles to share and enjoy.