Who DOESN’T feel better after a good ol’ belly laugh? Laughter helps lower blood pressure, releases endorphins, works your abs better than sit ups, and just feels so darn good. Anyone who has ever shared a belly laugh with a good friend has to agree — laughter really is the best medicine.
But on tough days, laughter can be elusive, and it isn’t as if we can just will ourselves to laugh. On our most stressful days, in our worst moments, we can’t just dial up laughter like a pizza and wait for it to arrive (although how fabulous would that be? That’s a delivery service I can get behind!). Laughter, like so many other things, is only truly restorative when it is genuine and spontaneous.
Often laughter can sneak in when we least expect it. A friend’s mother tells a favorite story of when, as a newlywed, she was hosting her first family holiday dinner and was setting up with her best friend. Stress levels were high, but as they walked, carefully carrying a massive jello mold (it was the late 60’s, after all) the jello started shaking, and they both started giggling. The giggles gradually turned into giant fits of laughter, and the jello mold ended up on the floor. Despite the jello-splat, neither of them would trade that moment for anything! No one can remember how the dinner party went, but the laughter lingered as a powerful memory.
We must be open, always, to the possibility that life will deliver us some laughter, like a healthy version of pizza for our soul. Often the best laughter comes from the place or moment you would least expect it! Where will you find laughter this month?
Share your plan, and get some ideas from others by leaving a comment here or on our Facebook page.
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