Why Do You Need To Laugh More Often?

Laughter is one of the oldest forms of communication existing today. Visit a foreign country, and you can laugh alongside someone who doesn’t even speak your language. And you will have an instant bond with them. Why do you need to laugh more often? Read on…

 

One of my best memories ended with me lying on the side of the road, howling so hard I couldn’t stand up. My boyfriend Vance, at the time (now husband), was frantically running down the street to rescue our friend Shelly. She had waved at us, then swerved, hit the curb and went over the handlebars of her bicycle. Vance came back shaking his head at me, asking me why I thought that was so funny? I couldn’t answer, I was still trying to recover from the ab workout.

Some moments just strike my funny bone and my husband thinks I have a weird sense of humour.

I come by it honestly. My grandmother and her two daughters, my mother and her sister Val, were prone to having split-your-side fits.  These moments could set each other off into an avalanche of giggling, tears and holding their stomachs.

My grandmother passed on the beautiful blessing of laughter to her children and grandchildren. 

 

My sister Shaun was sitting at a sewing machine, in our kitchen. She started pointing at the contraption frantically and hyperventilating. My mother thought Shaun was re-enacting a scene from The Three Stooges and mom was laughing hysterically at my sister. Until she realized Shaun had sewn her thumb to the sewing machine.

 

 

In my family, we tended to point and laugh at each other when something went comically wrong.

I tried passing the same attribute unto my children. Especially Aryanna, who wasn’t too keen on being laughed at, since this made her the center of attention. When Aryanna was young, she wanted to fade into the background instead of being in the forefront.

We kept on laughing at her when she’d have comical moments, and she’d call us Bossy Cat and slam her door. But over time her smile started to appear when we thought her situation was funny.

Aryanna and I were dress shopping last week and as she went into the change room to try on a dress I commented, “Make sure to lock the door, so you don’t fall out of the changeroom while you’re undressing.”

Yep, that happened when she was ten, I laughed for days. Aryanna glared at me in the rearview mirror, all the way home from Walmart.

But on this day, twelve years later, the two of us started giggling at the memory. Over the years, Aryanna has become more enthusiastic about laughing at her own blunders and allowing us to join in.

Aryanna loves to giggle, and it is my favourite attribute about her.

We like to play board games as a family. We have enjoyed the one where you put the mouthpiece in and try to say words as your family guesses… and you drool. I love to sit back and watch Aryanna chuckle at her brother Devyn. Who is hilarious at this game since he has a small mouth and a short tongue.

I forgot the gluten-free bread for communion one Sunday and left the church to quickly get some at the store. The grocery store only had frozen bread, and I had to grab crackers instead. I didn’t realize how dry and brittle gluten-free crackers are until the silence was broken with loud, very long crunching, throughout the sanctuary.

My family got the giggles.

I think the Bible says, “Eat, drink and be merry” if it doesn’t, well it sounds like good advice in church. 

Not only does the Bible talk about laughter and joy being good for you, but the medical community also believes the following advice which is from the Bible:

 

When our family was going through difficult times with our grown son Kyle, who has autism, I would end my long day with laughter. I would try to watch practical joke-videos or TV’s Funniest Videos. I seemed to be the only one in my family who thinks pranks were funny. I get out the Kleenex, and they would just sit and stare at me until I fell asleep. Then they changed the channel to a murder mystery…party poopers.

Why watch blood and gore when you can watch someone step out of the park porta-potty they just entered, and are now strangely in the middle of a business board meeting, wondering if they have entirely LOST THEIR MIND.

Snorting. Crying. Choking. Laughing.

My daughter-in-law Jazmin has been battling stage four cancer for four years. She’s twenty-one next week. I saw her post on Instagram:

 

 

*photo by Risk Media

I love what Jazmin said about being happy: sometimes it’s a decision, plain and simple.

*read more about Jazmin’s outlook on happiness and having cancer click: HAPPIEST DAYS LEAVING CANCER AT HOME

When I was having those tough days with my son Kyle, I knew laughing could dissipate the seriousness of the situation. Within a few minutes, I’d feel a burden lifted from my shoulders. Laughter leads to happiness. Happiness leads to joy.

If you want joy – laugh!

Sometimes you have to find ways to make yourself giggle so you can alleviate the sadness that may be overwhelming you.

Why Do You Need To Laugh More Often?

A good laugh:

• Stimulate many organs. Laughter enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain.
• Activate and relieve your stress response. A rollicking laugh fires up and then cools down your stress response, and it can increase your heart rate and blood pressure. The result? A good, relaxed feeling.
• Soothe tension. Laughter can also stimulate circulation and aid muscle relaxation, both of which can help reduce some of the physical symptoms of stress.

*These facts are from the Mayo Clinic, see the full article here: Stress Relief From Laughter? It’s No Joke

If you’ve been feeling down in the dumps lately, it’s time for you to have a good chuckle. This will lift your gloomy spirits and bring joy back into your life. I want to help you do that since I understand how wonderful experiencing joy can make us feel.

The following video will make you giggle. Watch what happens when cancer patients who have been feeling sad, depressed, and discouraged are given a makeover.

 

Didn’t that video lift your spirits? See how their perspective changed? The cancer patients needed a moment to feel alive and vibrant again since they are in a battle every day.

You may not be dying of cancer, and your life isn’t as bad as you thought, especially after you had a moment to chuckle, howl, shriek, giggle, split-your-sides, roll-on-the-floor, and snort.

Why do you need to laugh more often? You may live longer!

A couple of days ago I went for my first workout in about a month. I was paired up with Betty- Lou and Angela for a group workout. Vance commented afterwards that the men could hear us ladies laughing throughout our workout. Well, we didn’t get a whole lot done during the workout compared to our usual exercise,  but my heart got exercise since I walked away with an amazing amount of joy!

You have something that can dissipate depression, heal the heart, lift the spirit, draw people closer together, make a tough man cry, and strengthen a family.

God gave us laughter to heal our spirits and elevate our minds out of the mire and sadness, life can bring. He wants you to be joyful, happy, peaceful, positive and hopeful. Ask God to give you moments of joy and rolling-in-the-aisles until you feel better.

Laughter, the language everyone speaks- use it as often as possible. 

 

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