θάρρει

(pronounced THAR-ei)

What a good word! It is an imperative, meaning: "cheer up", "take heart", "don't be afraid".

Wonder what would happen if one walked around saying this and smiling all of the time (I mean, if you were happy and you weren't Barbie at the end of Toy Story...or was it the sequel... Anyway!).

In London (or was if Paris?), I was on a subway with the rest of the college tour (one of the funniest things to see is the surprised looks of the citzens when fifty college kids get off leaving over half the car empty) and I was in a good mood, at least as good a mood you can have in a strange country halfway across the world from home. There was a lady standing next to me in the stifling crowd who noticed me smiling. Now, nobody smiles. Everyone ignores everyone else and goes about in the city minding their own business and with not so much as a tooth or dimple showing...for the most part; I'm sure there a some people who smile, but not on metros where you don't know anyone. The lady stared at me for a while, this really weird look crossing her face. Then, slowly, she smiled back hesitantly. Yeah, she probably thought I was out of my mind, but at least she smiled. Though, what if she, remembering that all day, smiled at another stranger...and then that person smiled at another one. It would be the most astonishing things ever, a whole city beaming from cheek to cheek.

"What are you smiling about?" "I have no idea! Everyone's smiling and I can't help but smile back."

Yeah, maybe I am a little nuts, but, who knows, I may have made that lady's day better. So, go make someone's day and remember, θάρρει.