The Weekly Smile is a blogging event that promotes positivity and encourages writers to talk about the beauty they see in the world, rather than focusing on the negative. I thought this was such a lovely idea, and I knew from the moment I came across it that I wanted to participate.

The idea is to talk about something that made you smile in the past week, and why it impacted you. I love this idea, because as draining and emotionally exhausting as this past week has been for me, as I look back on it I can also recall many moments that made me smile. In fact, I’ve had so many reasons to smile this past week, that I can’t pick just one to write about! But here are a few that stand out:

• My beautiful sunset walk on Friday evening. The weather was gorgeous (the calm before the storm), the sunset was stunning, and the revelations that came to me in the peace and quiet were invaluable!
• Watching my bestie’s daughter play with her cat. Cute babies and felines are ALWAYS a reason to smile, particularly when you combine them!
• Winning two games of “Clank” against Ryan yesterday! Ryan and I are strategy board game fanatics, but the thing is that he is just way smarter than me! I would guess that Ryan wins approximately 90% of the games we play against each other, and so when I finally achieve a victory, I relish it for as long as I can!
• Puzzling. I love doing puzzles, and finishing one off is just a fantastic feeling! Last week I finally finished a 1500-piece puzzle that I had been working on for weeks (I wrote about it in Life Lessons: Jigsaw Puzzle Edition) and completing it was the best feeling ever! To celebrate, this past weekend I decided to treat myself to much smaller, much simpler 500-piece puzzle. I started it Friday night and completed it Saturday morning. It was such a lovely way to recharge.

These aren’t the only reasons I’ve had to smile over the past week, but they are certainly a few of the highlights. Another highlight for me was all of the meaningful conversation that was started around yesterday’s post, So Long Comfort Zone. Whether here on the blog or on Facebook, a number of people shared and opened up about their personal struggles and the ways that they are working to let go of their “unsafe comfort zones.”

One friend in particular shared a perfectly fitting quote that she had come across earlier in the day and lettered by hand prior to seeing my post. It said, “Your comfort zone will kill you.” I was so delighted by this coincidence that I simply had to smile. Since then, I have also come across other posts here in the blogging community talking about nearly the exact same things. All of this has been emphasizing the fact that my “safe” is not necessarily as safe as I think, and I need to be on guard against ever becoming too comfortable in life.

Overall, I have had so much to smile about this past week. Sometimes you just need to stop and reflect on these things and remind yourself that life is actually so good, even in the midst of difficult circumstances. Today I am so thankful for all the good times, for my amazing friends, and for the growth that I have been experiencing lately through Braver Than Before and its inspiring community of readers.

What has made you smile this past week? Leave me a comment below and share your stories. I am always looking for another reason to smile 😀