Laugh more
Turn that frown upside down. Your mother probably said it more than once, and she may have been onto something.
Laughter is said to do a good deal for the body. It is said to lower stress and lift your energy, leaving you relaxed and lively at the same time. It is also said to release endorphins, the chemicals behind that easy sense of well being.
It does things for the rest of you as well. A good laugh lets sadness or anger go, at least for a moment. It puts you squarely in the present, where you are not chewing over what has been or what might be. And laughing with someone is a kind of closeness. You were both there.
Finding more of it
Laughter is contagious, which is the useful part. A few ways to catch some:
- Smile. It is the smallest start there is.
- Try laughter yoga. A room of people laughing on purpose, for no reason at all, sounds ridiculous. That is rather the point. It catches.
- Spend time with the friends who want to have fun. You know which ones they are.
- Ask for a story. Ask the people you are with about the funniest thing that ever happened to them, and listen.
- Watch a funny film. At noon on a Tuesday, if you like.
- Do something silly. Karaoke. Mini putt. A live comedy show.
Whichever you choose, live today in the present, and leave some room in it for laughing.
From the archive. First written for my journal years ago, and rewritten for life after 50.
