Happiness is the bomb cosmetic! When I'm smiling, sometimes I'm

When Yaya DaCosta said, “Happiness is the bomb cosmetic! When I’m smiling, sometimes I’m giving thanks for all the things I have rather than worrying about the things I don’t,” she spoke not as one chasing beauty, but as one who had discovered its truest source. Her words shine with the wisdom of the ancients disguised in modern joy: that gratitude is the secret elixir, the invisible adornment that makes the face radiant and the spirit strong. In a world so easily enchanted by the surface, she reminds us that happiness itself is the most powerful cosmetic, one that no mirror can contain and no gold can buy.

From the earliest days of humankind, sages and poets have sought to understand the nature of beauty. The philosophers of old said that beauty was not in form alone, but in harmony — the balance of soul and body, thought and deed. When the heart is at peace, the countenance shines. Thus, what DaCosta calls the “bomb cosmetic” is not a product, but a state of being — the glow that arises when one lives in gratitude, when one smiles not from vanity but from thanksgiving. Her smile is her offering, her act of reverence to life itself.

In the East, the Buddha taught that the root of suffering is desire, the endless reaching for what is not yet ours. But he also taught that joy begins when we turn our gaze from what is missing to what is already here. This is the very essence of DaCosta’s words: “giving thanks for all the things I have rather than worrying about the things I don’t.” The mind that counts blessings is rich beyond measure; the one that counts lacks will never know peace. Like a garden watered daily, the grateful heart grows beauty from within — its fragrance spreading outward, transforming both the self and the world around it.

Consider the story of Helen Keller, who was both blind and deaf, yet spoke of joy with a clarity that few who see and hear can match. “So much has been given to me,” she once said, “that I have no time to ponder over that which has been denied.” In her darkness, she found light; in her silence, she heard music. Her gratitude became her strength, and her happiness, her light. Her life teaches the same truth DaCosta speaks: that beauty and happiness are not found in circumstance, but in perception — in the heart that chooses thanksgiving over sorrow.

The ancients often compared gratitude to a flame that drives away the shadows of envy and want. When we give thanks, we align ourselves with the rhythm of the universe — the same rhythm that guides the tides and turns the stars. The smile then becomes more than expression; it becomes a symbol of harmony between the soul and the divine. A person who smiles with thankfulness radiates something eternal, a quiet strength that others can feel but not name. This is why DaCosta calls it a cosmetic — for it beautifies not only the face, but the world that beholds it.

To live this truth, one must practice awareness and gratitude. Each morning, before the day’s burdens press upon you, count three blessings. Each evening, before sleep, remember one kindness received. In moments of frustration, pause and name something you are thankful for — a breath, a friend, a lesson. Over time, this habit becomes armor against despair and balm for the restless mind. The one who practices gratitude will find that life, though imperfect, is filled with quiet miracles.

So, dear listener, let this teaching rest within your heart: happiness is not a result, but a practice. It is not given by fortune, nor taken by fate. It is born in the heart that chooses to see abundance where others see lack. Be like Yaya DaCosta — smile not as a mask, but as an act of thanks. Let your joy become your beauty, and your gratitude your song. For in this way, you will wear the greatest cosmetic of all — the radiant peace of one who knows that everything truly precious has already been given.

And when you smile, do so with purpose: not to impress the world, but to honor it. For the ancients would tell us — and Yaya reminds us still — that happiness is the truest reflection of the divine within us, and that the one who smiles with gratitude carries more beauty than any crown, and more power than any paint or jewel.