Let laughter ring
We are living in serious times. And, while I don’t want to demean or diminish the seriousness of all the seriousness, I have one piece of advice that I hope can benefit us all.
Sometimes, the best thing you can do for yourself is laugh.
You read that right. In the midst of the dire, sobering, critical, drastic, desperate and extreme times in which we all live, we perhaps can benefit from something as basic and simple and liberating as laughter. From the belly. The kind that takes your breath away and makes tears flow down your cheeks (the ones on your face).
Life is serious. We are living in serious times. I believe both those things to be true. I am not advocating making light of the seriousness, nor am I suggesting we laugh at it. I’m simply proposing a short, minimal break from it all. A laugh break, if you will.
Yes, life is serious. But I also believe life is short and it is meant to be fun and in that I give you permission.
Not that you need it from me, but it feels good to give it.
I give you permission to laugh. And to be silly. To crack jokes. To giggle.
Not at yourself, but at something beyond yourself. At something that is funny to you, whether that’s re-runs of The Office, a hilarious knock knock joke, funny cat videos, a clown slipping on a banana peel, someone pretending to pass gas (loudly) in a crowded elevator or the overall ugliness of your best friend’s big toe.
Seek laughter. The reasons are simple:
It feels good. And it does good. Laughter provides physical benefits to your body. It increases your intake of oxygen, which benefits internal organs. It helps you relax, which works to decrease blood pressure and provide possible heart benefits. It reduces stress while increasing energy levels – an oxymoron I’d love to live with.
If you’re still struggling, I’d like to give you a hands-on exercise to try for yourself at home. This object lesson is not my own. I came across a version of it online, and couldn’t hold back a smile (much less laughter.) Then I thought how much others could benefit from the silly laughter it evokes and knew I had to share it with you.
In that vein, please do attempt the following while keeping a frown on your face:
Whisper ‘beep boop’ to yourself while (optional) twirling around three times. If still feeling stress, repeat while hopping on one foot.
Plug your nose. Say ‘walla walla bing bang’ in a high voice. Then say ‘halla halla fling flang’ in a really deep voice.
Say ‘unicorn’ in the angriest voice you can. Next, look in the mirror and in your best David Cassidy voice sing, ‘I think I love you!’ Then say ‘pickles’ three times as fast as you can while puckering your lips.
If you aren’t laughing yet, maybe you’ve lost your sense of humor. In order to find it you can try watching a few more funny cat videos or old reruns of The Carol Burnett Show. Or you can take a peek at your best friends big toe.
We are living in serious times. I guess when you think about it, most times, historically, have been serious times. In that, we aren’t alone or unique.
The same can be said for laughter. It’s likely humans have been laughing ever since the beginning of time – and since the beginning of seriousness.
Maybe they need each other.
LOL.
