“Joyfulness keeps the heart and face young. A good laugh makes us better friends with ourselves and everybody around us.”—Orison Swett Marden
Lighten up, folks! Don’t take yourself to serious. Relax and have a good laugh.
I love mornings when my kids wake up grumpy. (Well, not really, but I do welcome the opportunity to try to make them laugh.) Getting them to smile is one of the many things I live for. The easy route to getting them to smile is to sternly demand that they don’t laugh. It usually only takes a couple: “Don’t you dare laugh” commands to get their beautiful smiles to bust out of frown prison. I don’t like to start the day with seeing my children smile.
I like to laugh. I love to laugh. Truth be told, it masks my fears and nervousness. When I took up public speaking, I quickly realized that when I get nervous I crack jokes. The more jokes I utter, the more relaxed my audience perceives me. Little do they know, I am a nervous wreck. I still get nervous speaking—which, as a university professor….
I love to laugh at myself. Believe me, there is a lot of material there. After all, we just can’t take ourselves too seriously. Personally, I think people are much more relaxed talking with someone they can trust not to be easily offended—and taking offense seems to have become an American pastime. In addition, when I can laugh at myself, my short comings can no longer be obstacles to my success. I am less worried, then, about what other people think.
I love silly comedy. I love the feeling of a good belly laugh. I love to laugh so hard my drink comes out of my nose. I love to laugh so hard my side hurts.
But more than I love being made to laugh, I love seeing a smile brighten the countenance of a friend. There is a lot of pain in the world. If, for even a moment, I can help ease someone’s pain, I have done a good thing.
I have had too many friends who have lost children to cancer and other diseases. In all of their suffering, the smiles never left the faces of these beautiful children. Their smiles lit up my world. If a child facing the darkness of death can smile, I have no cause to be unhappy.
A smile can encourage the most troubled soul. Take the time today to share your smile and to put a smile on the face of another.
Carpe momento!
“Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.”—Victor Hugo