Why You Should Laugh More

My daughter’s birthday was a few days ago, and my mother left her three messages throughout the day. She sang happy birthday each time, but felt the need to keep calling. Samantha said the best message was the last one, because mom just laughed hysterically and hung up.

Growing up, our entire family had a rule – Laughter First. 

When I was ten years old, my dad led my sister, brother and I out on a stone jetty at the beach. Once we reached the middle of the jetty, he turned to us and said, “Now kids, watch where you’re walking because there are . . . ” and he disappeared. He had taken a step back without looking and dropped right into the water.

Once he had climbed back up, scratched and bleeding, we all started laughing. We ran back to the beach to tell my mom, because we knew it was a great story.

For us, laughter was the reward for an unfortunate incident.

When you laugh, you light up your soul . . .

That’s right. Laughter sends hormones that act as opiates down your spine. Laughter lights you up and makes others want to be around you.

I saw an old episode of “I Love Lucy” last night, and was so relieved that I wasn’t watching someone get shot, stabbed, or devoured by a zombie. Not that I don’t watch those shows, I do, but I realized how much lighter I felt after watching Lucy’s antics.

I guess I love Lucy because I understand her. While I never lit my fake nose on fire while talking with William Holden, I did breastfeed the wrong baby.

And while I didn’t get stuck outside on a ledge while dressed as Superman, I did crawl through a window with my roommate to get into Pablo Cruise’s dressing room at Wake Forest.

Lucille Ball was a perfectionist who was courageous in her art, and believed in its power.

If you need to power up your laughter, try the following:

1. Laugh with gusto.  Some people will shush you when you laugh too loud. Laugh anyway.  Granted, if it is your wedding night you might want to dial it back, but overall, laughter rules.
2. Pan for funny stories. If someone is telling a story and there is a funny part, then for corn’s sake laugh! If they tell you that it wasn’t supposed to be funny, assume they are humor-impaired and tell them why it was. Grab humor like it’s gold and share it freely. We all need it.
3. Avoid the negativity-velcro people. If someone around you serves as fly-paper for horrible stories, don’t be the fly. Stop them from spending your precious time with sad, horrible, sometimes barely-true stories.  I know one woman who’s had every body part removed at least once, yet never misses a day of work. Smile politely, and move on.
4. Find funny shows. We know the power in drama, but don’t underestimate the power of good comedy like the Academy does each year. Sit and laugh for thirty minutes a day and see how you feel. It’s like swallowing sunshine. You feel calmer, more relaxed, and hopeful.

If tragedy is the rose, then comedy is the daisy.

Light, beautiful, and simply powerful.