What's Making me Smile...recently.

I once read a story about a queen who always felt lonely because the people around her made her feel ugly. She announced that whosoever could make her beautiful would receive a great price.  Folks from far and near came to accept the challenge. One changed her hair, another did her make-up, and still another did her a beautiful dress...but none of succeeded in making the queen beautiful.  Until one day a rather old but pleasant looking beggar woman came knocking at the palace door, claiming that she holds the key to the queen's happiness.  Once they met, the woman offered the queen a rather plain looking ring with an odd looking stone.  The stone didn't sparkle like a real diamond should because indeed, it was not a real diamond but an ordinary gem! However, the old woman claimed it was the ultimate solution to the queen's problem and that she is not asking for any reward in return.

"What will I do with this ring and how certain are you that this will indeed cure me of my misery?"asked the queen.

"Yes your highness, I am certain it will.  Just promise to smile at it once every hour. After ten days I shall come visit you and find out how the magic of this ring has enhanced your beauty."

So the queen did as she was told.  Every hour every day, she took time to smile at the ring on her finger.  Having to smile repeatedly, she would sometimes forget if she was able to smile already at the ring, so much so that she would have a smile pasted on her face all the time to ensure that she will get efficient results.

True enough, after only several days of wearing the ring, everybody in the palace has already noticed the gradual change in the queen's aura.  She began to look more radiant, less old, more cheerful, less anxious, her wrinkles seemed lesser, her over-all image seemed so much brighter.

On the tenth day, the old woman came back.  The queen was more than glad to welcome back the woman who gave her the ring.  Pleased with the results, the old woman revealed to the queen that the ring she gave her was not magical at all.  The real magic, she confided, was in the queen's smile and that she did not need any ring at all to exude the beauty that was already within her.  The queen laughed at the revelation and thanked the woman for her revelation.

From that day on, the queen smiled even more.  As a consequence, she indeed became more and more beautiful, radiant, and best of all, happier.  All these became possible because she smiled a lot, not just on the ring that was once on her finger, but to everyone around her.

So here's what is making me smile alot recently...

Unlike the queen's, mine are real (albeit tiny). Heheh.  I am not certain if these already succeeded in making me "more beautiful" like the queen.  But since I got these, I've been smiling alot.  As in.  I don't know. I guess there's just truth to Marilyn's declaration that diamonds are a girl's best friend.  And in my case right now, my instant beauty regimen? =)