Words To Live By: Laughter

(This is one of a part of a series of WORDS TO LIVE BY. This series grew out of a workbook I first made for my young daughters and discussed at the dinner table. These Words include values, good ideas, and Words to aspire to….and learn from….enjoy!)

From wikipedia: Laughing is a reaction to certain stimuli. It may ensue from hearing a joke, being tickled, or other stimuli. Most commonly, it is considered a visual expression of a number of positive emotional states, such as joy, mirth, happiness, relief, etc.

I picked Laughter as a Word to Live By because, well, we gotta laugh about "it."

Think about the best days in your life so far. Was laughter involved? Probably. I think about times with my parents - I often think about laughing at the dinner table - joking and ribbing each other. My mother and I are both Tauruses and she often said we were both stubborn and we'd 'disagree in a fun way'. I'd kid with her and my dad would laugh knowing that only I could get away with it.

"Laughter is America's most important export. " Walt Disney

I think about joking with my sisters and the typical brother/sister teasing and jokes. I recall laughing with them when I was young - we'd wrestle and I'd try to play tricks on them or tease them as their little brother.

I love to watch the outtakes from movies - you know when they show how the actors mess up, bloopers , and the whole crew breaks into spontaneous laughter? I haven't watched the movie for over 20 years but I can still laugh when I think about the outtakes from Smokey and the Bandit for Dom Deluise and Burt Reynolds. (I think that they may be much better than the actual movie!) I love to watch bloopers and those 'funniest home video' type of shows where we can all laugh at the happenings of others.

I think about good times in school, high school and college. I really enjoyed a practical joke, although harmless ones, on friends. I remember "setting a locker" of a friend so that when he opened it, a bunch of pop cans fell out, making a large noise and having the whole hallway of high school kids erupt in laughter. I'd sometimes "set lockers" of high school girls with a silly stuffed animal so that they'd scream loudly when they opened it, only to find a cute little stuffed toy. I still laugh now about that stuff and have difficulty stopping.

In college, armed with a big roll of shrink wrap, I would wrap someone's dorm room in the clear plastic; TV, pillows, mattress, etc. I'd laugh the whole time and for days after. One guy came in and saw what I'd done and didn't remove it from his mattress for a few days, sleeping in the plastic.

When I was and still am with my close friends, it is about laughter. When I started dating my wife, and for years since, we laughed a lot. (I know that I really have her going when I can't hear her - she is a silent laugher.) I recall times when we'd laugh so much our faces and stomachs hurt. We laughed at dumb things we've done, laugh about movies, laugh about life.

"Shared laughter is one of the most effective tools for keeping relationships fresh and exciting. All emotional sharing builds strong and lasting relationship bonds, but sharing laughter and play also adds joy, vitality, and resilience. And humor is a powerful and effective way to heal resentments, disagreements, and hurts. Laughter unites people during difficult times." from the article Laughter is the Best Medicine http://www.helpguide.org/life/humor_laughter_health.htm

Some of the most enjoyable laughter is from my daughters. When they were young, they laughed at my dad's jokes and tricks. They'd laugh when we'd wrestle. They'd laugh a silly things and things we adults don't think about enough. There is nothing like the unabridged version of a child laughing hard at something - full out. I recall their laughter as I tickled them. We still laugh together as a family often, now my girls are better able to 'dish it out' as much as they can take a joke.
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