A NEW CONTAGION

How many people does it take to make one person smile? Apparently, as the above photo shows, it takes five - four social workers and myself. The five of us helped an autistic friend mount one of our horses. He didn’t stop smiling the entire time he was being led around the corral, nor did we.

Over the past two days, we were blessed to host about 20 adult autistic friends from a center in SLC. We communicated with them mainly through smiles. Victor Borge said, “The shortest distance between two people is a smile.”  The horses sparked smiles, and it was impossible not to return them as we saw their joy when they hit the saddle. There is indeed a remarkable connection between horses and people with autism. 

The picture on the right is of Eleanor, who coordinated their visit. I don’t think I ever saw her stop smiling in our two days together. Her magnetic smile was infectious. Executives I coach frequently ask me how they can be perceived as more charismatic. The simple answer: smile more, but be warned, it is contagious.