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Dear TSJ Friends,
Today I am writing a fun letter about laughing.
I hope it brings you a light spirit.
It takes me back to a happy memory from my youth thinking about how much my parents enjoyed reading “Laughter is the Best Medicine” in the Reader’s Digest which they kept for bathroom reading.
A Shift in Mindset
It all started a couple of weeks ago when John and I were taking our routine walk.
As we walked along the roadside, we came upon several people walking their little dogs. This is a common sight here in our senior development. The sun was shining brightly and we were feeling that euphoric sense of the joy of being alive.
It must have inspired John. At one point he called out to a gentleman whose dog had just finished raising its leg at the bottom of the mailbox post.
“Good morning!” John called warmly.
The gentleman responded the same.
Then John spoke in a rather mischievous voice and called out, “This must be the doggie version of Face Book!” The man nodded, but I am not sure he truly heard or understood it.
In about three seconds my brain registered it as hilarious. Humor often involves two things that one would not ordinarily think about together. The brain reacts to things that naturally do not go together. It is part of our natural error detection system!
I let out a laugh that that lasted off and on for about five minutes. I say, “That is hilarious, honey! You are right. The dogs are checking what has been “posted” by their doggie neighbors!”
We laughed together and that set the tone for the day.
John privately glowed with the success of making me laugh so hard. He also bent close to my ear and added,”Actually it is more like A— — book than Face book.”
That set off another gale of laughter. But you kind of have to have “been there” to get the full humor with tones and expressions, but I hope you smiled.
The Shift Continued
What I did not know at first was how this silly moment with John had charged up my happy neurons in my brain. This happy charge would last for days and remind me of the value of laughter. It was like a shot of dopamine and researchers say laughter is nature’s medicine.
A merry heart is good. Laughter leads to healing the heart and freeing the mind.
A Dream About Laughing!
Have you ever awakened from sleep laughing or had a dream of laughing? If so, do you remember how it affected your mood when you woke up? If not, you can imagine it.
For me, this was a first.
The Dream:
It seems my unconscious mind had absorbed my happiness.
Apparently the act of laughing had triggered the dream I am about to describe.
Yes, I dreamt I was laughing. And when I woke up I was happy.
In the dream, I was alone in a large room at a stand up comedy performance. The skit was a bit like a Saturday Night Live impersonation of a celebrity (that I did not know.) In the dream, the first performer seemed mocking and sinister and I felt troubled. It was not funny.
The second performer, however, was kindly hilarious, a bit clown-like (without the costume) but exaggerating the celebrity’s characteristic walk and talk and general movements. It was super funny. And in the dream, I laughed so long and hard the tears ran down my cheeks and I had to blow my nose.
This dream sparked a desire to do more reading about the gift of laughter.
Comedian, Steve Bhaerman, says, “Laughter and humor help us free the mind.” (I know I have written this before, but you cannot be angry or hold an angry mindset and laugh at the same moment.)
Bhaerman also says, “Laughter and humor give us the flexibility to deal with uncertainty, chaos and change.”
A Personal Story of Laughter Relief– (From my own experience of uncertainty after Mr. Tom died)
I was drenched with sadness and aching with fatigue when I walked into the cable store one summer day. When I walked out I was smiling.
Mr. Tom had died and I had to move into an apartment until the new house was built.
Finally, the day came when I had to turn in my cable modem. I was alone and had been crying. I dreaded going into the store and waiting with lots of people. This was before COVID and you drew a number and waited in long lines at that time.
I was fortunate enough to find a seat. And as grace would have it I sat fairly near an attractive young woman named Jen who was hilarious! She sat in the crowded room between three or four older men who were clearly enamored by her.
But they did not get her humor. She was clearly witty and used humor filled with double meanings that would not be acceptable for this blog post and not readily understandable by the men.
But she caught my attention and I started laughing. I tried to hide my laughter but once she knew she had an audience she got funnier and funnier. While I did not laugh loudly, my whole body shook as I was desperately trying to muffle my voice in a tissue. By now the room was full of people. I mean nearly thirty people that day. Televisions were there to help entertain us. But on that day, very few customers looked at the TVs.
The people clearly strained to hear what Jen was saying that was so funny.
They laughed at my laughter and they knew they were missing out. A couple of people actually moved closer to us as seats got emptied. Others stood nearby.
The atmosphere in the room changed dramatically. Laughter is contagious and so is the positive energy that it generates! When our numbers were called, we almost didn’t want to go to the counter! When Jen’s number was called we all were disappointed. Fortunately, mine was called then so we ended up thanking each other.
Jen was sent there by God (I am sure and Solomon agrees). Her gift of humor graced the room.
I forgot my sadness. I discovered I could still laugh.
The people at the counter also were grateful. I know because I talked with them about it. The crowd had been entertained, Laughter distracted them from their grumbles. The young men behind the counter thanked me for joining Jen in the fun. They wished they could hear her.
Your Turn!
Any memories starting to be triggered? Like one that comes to my mind of when I sat across a picnic table at camp and someone said something that made me laugh so hard that watermelon exploded out my nose and mouth? The kid across the table was not so happy.
Embarrassing moments are a good place to start.
As always, I love hearing your stories too. I hope you feel lighter just thinking about laughing.
Years ago (2011) I did an online seminar on laughter. Steve Bhaerman, the comedian who led the course (I mentioned above) said this:
“Life is a banquet and the best part are the laughed-overs.”
Solomon and I say, Feel free to share some of your “laughed-overs” with friends this week! Let me know if you enjoyed thinking lightly today.
Let’s not forget the child in ourselves.
As always, Love and joy for the journey,
Margie
PS.. One way to remember the child of love, laughter and play within ourselves is to spend time with children. This is from iStock Photo I purchased years ago. But look at those smiles. We are wired for happiness!
