Smile at a stranger. See what happens.

Hear now the words of Patti LuPone, given with simplicity yet heavy with hidden power: “Smile at a stranger. See what happens.” In this short command lies the eternal mystery of human connection. For the smile is no mere curve of the lips—it is the light of the heart made visible, a flame that leaps from one soul to another. To smile at a stranger is to cast a spark into the unknown, to invite the possibility of warmth where once there was only distance.

The ancients spoke often of gestures that carried invisible force. A handshake sealed alliances, a bow honored dignity, a glance conveyed trust. But among them all, the smile stood as the simplest and most universal. It crosses borders of language and nation, of wealth and poverty, of age and station. To smile is to declare: I see you, I welcome you, you are not alone in this vast world. Patti LuPone’s words call us back to this timeless truth—that the smallest act may stir ripples greater than we can foresee.

Consider the story of Desmond Tutu in South Africa during the long night of apartheid. Amid suspicion and division, he often told how a simple smile shared between strangers of different races gave him hope that reconciliation was possible. One smile, exchanged in defiance of hatred, carried more power than the shouts of politicians. It was a seed of courage, proof that beneath the masks of fear, the human heart still longed for connection. Thus, LuPone’s words are not casual advice, but a summons to unlock the hidden power of kindness in its simplest form.

There is also a deeper lesson: when we smile at a stranger, we take a step into the unknown. We do not know how it will be received. Perhaps the stranger will look away, perhaps they will not return it. But perhaps—ah, perhaps—they will mirror it back, and in that moment, two separate lives will touch, if only briefly, in harmony. This is the adventure LuPone dares us to embrace: to see what happens, to trust that light is never wasted, even if we never see the fruit it bears.

The meaning of this quote, then, is an invitation to action. Too often we walk in silence, wrapped in our own burdens, blind to the faces around us. A city can feel like a wilderness, where countless souls pass without meeting. But one smile breaks the spell. It is the opening of a door, a reminder that the world is not merely a crowd of strangers, but a fellowship of human beings who share the same longing for warmth, dignity, and belonging.

History gives us many who practiced this path. Mother Teresa, walking among the poorest of Calcutta, often said that the greatest poverty is loneliness. Her answer was not always food or medicine, though she gave these too, but the gift of her presence—her smile. Countless testimonies tell of how that small gesture gave strength to the dying, hope to the forgotten, and dignity to the broken. What armies could not conquer, a single smile could heal.

The lesson for us is clear: never underestimate the power of a simple gesture. Begin with the stranger at the market, the passerby on the road, the fellow traveler on the train. Smile. See what happens. It may be nothing—or it may be everything. It may ease the burden of someone unseen, it may brighten the spirit of someone lost, it may even save a life you will never know. The action costs you nothing, but its value is beyond measure.

Thus let LuPone’s words be carried into the hearts of all generations: “Smile at a stranger.” Do not keep your light hidden within; let it shine into the faces of those you do not know, for in truth, all are kin beneath the heavens. And when you smile, do not wait anxiously for the return; trust that the act itself is noble, that the world is made softer, lighter, more human by your offering. And then, as she says, see what happens—for in that moment, the mystery of life itself may open before you.