We can get so serious about our business that we can forget to have fun. We can become so worried about our “next” that we forget to enjoy the “now.” When was the last time you laughed so hard you couldn’t stop? When was the last time you sat around playing with a young child laughing in pure joy as he expressed who he was and participated with cleverness and spontaneity?
If you’re missing laughter in your life – get some. A long time ago it was proven that laughter helped cancer patients get better. Part of their treatment was to laugh every day. I’ve laughed out loud more in the four months I’ve been near my family than the last 19 years I lived by myself. Wonderful belly laughs complete with tears running down my face, to a light heart at the sound of my family playing a game about passing a dime around to guess who was actually holding it.
I don’t know that it depends on others to find something to laugh about but they help. I have laughed out loud at a book I was reading. I have laughed at a friend’s story over the phone. I’ve laughed at myself, but not out loud.
Lighten up. Even a smile will make a difference. See how light you can get your heart. See how grateful you can be for the people you live with, or where you live, or who you work with, or a kind deed that comes your way. We see what we look for. Look for twinkling eyes, the beginning of a grin, the smugness of your cat as he lies innocently beside the plant he just knocked over. Find the humor, find the joy, find the laughter. Your day will be better for it.
