If you have only one smile in you give it to the people you love.

"If you have only one smile in you give it to the people you love." Thus spoke Maya Angelou, the poet whose words carried both the fire of struggle and the warmth of compassion. In this simple yet profound saying, she reminds us that love is not measured in grand offerings, but in the quiet gifts of the heart. The smile, that gentle curve upon the lips, may seem small, yet it bears the weight of worlds—it can heal, it can reconcile, it can awaken joy where sorrow has long dwelt. Angelou, who had tasted both pain and triumph, understood that when life’s burdens press upon the soul, it is love, not pride or pretense, that deserves our last and finest portion of light.

In the days of the ancients, the wise men spoke often of the power of the face—for the face reveals the soul. A smile, freely given, is no mere expression; it is an act of grace, a spark of divine kindness breaking through the shadows of human weariness. When Maya Angelou says to give that last smile to those you love, she teaches that love must always take precedence over the coldness of the world. Even when the heart is tired, even when the spirit is wounded, to turn one’s final brightness toward those who matter is to proclaim: “You are still my light.”

Think of the story of Mother Teresa. She walked among the poor and the dying, in streets heavy with despair. Yet those who met her said that her smile was radiant—as if her heart drew warmth from heaven itself. When asked how she could smile amid so much suffering, she said, “Peace begins with a smile.” That smile, given to the least and the lost, was a sermon more powerful than any spoken word. So too, Angelou’s wisdom calls us to spend our last reserves of tenderness not on complaint or bitterness, but on love—for love multiplies when it is given, even in exhaustion.

There is a deeper lesson hidden here: the world often consumes the best of our spirit, leaving us little strength to offer those closest to us. Many give their cheer to strangers, their patience to work, their laughter to acquaintances, and return home with only silence. Yet Angelou whispers across the ages, reminding us that those who stand beside us in the storms—our family, our friends, our beloveds—are the ones who deserve our final smile, our last ember of joy. For what good is kindness that is spent abroad if the hearth of the home grows cold?

Let us also see in this quote the triumph of forgiveness. To smile, even when wronged, even when weary, is not weakness but victory. It is the proof that bitterness has not taken root. It is the rebellion of the soul against despair. When we give that last smile to those we love, we choose peace over pride, tenderness over resentment. The ancients called this the “nobility of heart”—that strength which can bless rather than curse, even when the vessel is nearly empty.

Maya Angelou’s life itself was the mirror of these words. She knew the chains of prejudice and the silence of pain, yet she never ceased to speak in tones of hope. Her smile—warm, knowing, eternal—became a symbol of courage and compassion. She smiled not because the world was easy, but because she refused to let it harden her heart. In that defiance lay her beauty. To smile when the soul is tired is to declare that love still reigns.

So, dear listener, let this teaching take root in you. When the day is long and the burdens heavy, remember to save your smile for those who love you. Do not spend your tenderness on the indifferent or the unkind, but nourish the ones who walk beside you in truth. Smile upon them even when words fail—for a true smile speaks directly to the heart. And when your light grows dim, let that final glow fall upon those dearest to you, as a blessing, as a promise, as a whisper of eternal love.

For in the end, a single smile, given in love, outweighs a thousand words spoken without it. It is the mark of the wise, the gentle, and the free. Therefore, guard it, give it well, and let your smile become the lantern that guides others through the dark—just as Maya Angelou’s words continue to guide us through ours.