A smile is often mistaken for being soft, but the two are not actually the same. A passive expression of ease or contentment, but in many moments, especially the difficult one, a smile is anything that is not gentle, but it has its own expression of itself. It is a declaration.
To smile in the face of pressure means something else. It can mean uncertainty or quiet struggle, which is not denying itself. It is not that you are pretending that things are perfect, no.
It is a conscious choice to remain steady when it would be easier to fold. That kind of smile carries with it is reflect resilience, not naivety. There is a particular strength in choosing how you show up, regardless of what you are carrying internally.
Life rarely pauses for anyone, but you just have to keep smiling and smiling at every day of the time. This doesn't mean that your suppressing pain is a two different thing entirely. Ignoring hardship is another thing entirely on its own.
Strength is found in being able to keep up with life and surmount every challenge. But strength is not found in pretending everything is fine. Rather, it is found in your ability to hold both throats at once.
Acknowledging difficulty while refusing to be defined by it, the smile becomes a bridge between those two states. There is also something that is quietly powerful about smiling to people. It increases your worth in every way.
It changes the energy of a room. It softens interaction and it can reassure others that something will actually go right at the end of the day. If a good smile is not produced, the heart of the people that you are reacting to might not be happy with you.
But perhaps the most important role of that smile is internal. It is a reminder to yourself that you are still in control, you are still in charge. Smiling has its own remedy.
It can cure depression and it can soften the ground before you actually come in.