Dear colleagues

Several years ago, I attended a four-day residential workshop at Scandinavia’s largest University at Aarhus in Denmark. Aarhus is Denmark’s second largest city, and has the ‘longest cathedral’ in the country; is the ‘European pinnacle of coffee brewing establishments’; has the country’s second largest ‘Art Museum’ (AROS) which has an entire floor dedicated to interactive installations; is the ‘city that epitomises the warm hygge spirit that embraces Danish culture’ – and indeed lots more, which I enjoyed during downtime from the University programme.

What I didn’t know before I got there, is the name by which all of Denmark refers to the city : ‘Smilets By’, translated as City of Smiles. The name was originally given as part of a tourist publicity campaign in 1938, but stuck – and can be factually supported in terms of lots of indicators of wellbeing, happiness and satisfaction. What a great descriptor though for a city.  I can confirm that there’s a lot of smiling there, as it really is a pleasant place with happy people – or is that just a self-fulfilling thing when one looks for evidence that the title applies?! Whatever – the effect is the same!

Our schools display their Christian values on websites and across the school site – and indeed, in many, I see the values in operation and being realised as even the youngest children refer to them to affirm other children’s behaviour and words, and challenge other children when they fall short of shared values and expectations. A good indicator of ethos and atmosphere is seeing genuine smiles as children feel secure , settled, challenged, affirmed and valued.

Put aside the stats on how many more muscles are used to frown (typically 40 plus) in comparison with smiling (typically 17) because that’s not a reason to frown or smile! In our increasingly challenging times, and when the media is quick to report sad but real statistics on unhappiness, dissatisfaction and detachment. However, perhaps the exemplar of being kind in recent history, Mother Theresa, was pretty insightful when she often said ‘Peace begins with a smile’. At some point every year there’s a social media flurry around the phrase ‘A smile costs nothing, but gives much’. Too true!

My daughter told me that on three occasions when she had been walking her dog last week, individual people smiled at her dog but didn’t even make eye contact with her! I’ve also experienced it, and it makes me smile, knowing someone’s moment or even day has been brightened by my smile-inducing dogs!

Many aspects of our faith make me smile. Many things people do or say, who are guided by our faith, make me smile. The idea of God smiling is of course theologically contentious and could be a form of diminishing anthropomorphism.   Humans anthropomorphise to make sense of the world, fulfil social and emotional needs, and predict their environment by attributing familiar to us human traits to non-human entities. So imagining God smile isn’t an intentionally wrong thing, but a response to trusting that God finds favour in something or someone, and is expressed in a way that is familiar. In the Bible, we read of God ‘shining His face’ on people, representing His grace, favour and protection.  In Numbers 6:25 we read ‘The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you’ and Psalm 36:16 says ‘Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love’. This verse expresses a plea for God's favour and mercy, highlighting the importance of His presence and love in the life of the believer. It emphasizes the desire for divine assistance and reassurance during difficult times.

I enjoyed putting ‘Songs about Smiles or Smiling’ into Spotify, and enjoyed even more listening to lots of them. So, if you need a pick-me-up or just a good Smile, give it a try!

With thanks for all you do and who you are in your place of influence and presence – and do initiate some smiles this week!

Best wishes

Jeff

Jeff Williams

Director of Education