Laughter
I needed more laughter this weekend. 95 degree weather necessitated the upstairs air conditioning unit be turned on. The overflow pan began leaking into our living room, via our ceiling fan. It continues to drip even as I type...despite my husband's dozen plus trips under the house to suck out the drain system. A day set aside to celebrate our son's fifth birthday was fraught with frustration and altered plans. What do you do on those days?
Our children took it in stride. They are such a natural source of joy. Daily I miss opportunities to laugh with my children. I'm going to try to do better about that.
Last weekend I realized I could use more laughter in my marriage. We attended an oxymoron: a FUN marriage seminar. We laughed until we cried - thanks to the speakers' wonderful senses of humor and a drama team that presented a comical look at relationships.
If you'd like to look at the science of laughter, Elizabeth Scott has an informative article that examines the specific positive effects of laughter on stress and general health. There are also interesting studies that explore how both patients' health and employees' well-being can benefit from laughter.
I definitely need more laughter in my life. But I need to make sure my days are full of the right kind of laughter, balanced in motive and timeliness. My laughter at someone's expense isn't humor, it is ridicule. My laughter during a serious moment isn't funny, it is inappropriate. In one Amazing Race episode a female contestant laughed while a deaf male expressed frustration. Despite her confession that she's always laughed during stressful moments, the deaf man's mother regarded her laughter as ridicule. Regardless of her motive, this is an example of a time when laughter wasn't funny.
We need the right kind of laughter in our lives...daily! When was the last time you belly laughed? When was the last time you had to wipe tears of laughter from your eyes? This week - today - make time to laugh! Below are a few links to get you started. Where do you go when you want to laugh? Will you share your favorites with us?
"The most wasted day of all is that in which we have not laughed."
--Sebastian Roch Nicolas Chamfort
Laughter Links:
http://info.tangle.com/incrediblestories (Once there, click "
Laughter Really
Is the Best Medicine")
www.Parade.com/cartoons
http://www.readersdigest.com/ ("laughs" tab) or http://www.rd.com/clean-jokes-and-laughs