I have often been accused of having a strange sense of humor.
But I maintain my warped way of thinking is what has kept me relatively sane for my 59+ years on this Earth. And science agrees with me. Just Google “the science of laughter” and you’ll get a return of more than 146 million results. Try any other keyword combination and the result will probably be the same.
Even TED thinks laughter is important. You know TED, right? TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design. The organization started in 1984 and is famous for the short — 20 minutes or less, usually — talks given by celebrities, entrepreneurs, scientists, government officials, researchers and just plain old regular people who have done some not-so-plain extraordinary things.
Studies have shown that a good bout of belly-laughs can do everything from raise the feel-good chemicals in your brain to boost your immunity to exercise your heart and even cure disease.
There was an occasion when Evan (my almost 28-year-old son who requires total care) was diagnosed with “Walking Pneumonia.” Terry (my husband) and I looked at each other and cheered “He’s healed!” The doctor gave us an odd look. We explained that Evan couldn’t walk before the pneumonia, but now that he was diagnosed, he must be able to walk. We still chuckle about that today. The doctor? Not so much.
The laughter researchers I found are not fly-by-night hacks who make up stuff to make a buck. I’m talking about major medical centers, university professors, even a stand-up comedian who moonlights as a neuroscientist (or maybe it’s the other way around?).
I read articles with headlines like “The Science Behind How Laughter Heals,” “Laughter for Health,” “5 Ways Laughter is Good For Your Health,” and even, yep, you guessed it: “Laughter is the Best Medicine.”
There are TED Talks titled “Why We Should Take Laughter More Seriously,” “How to Humor Your Stress,” “Why So Serious? How Laughter Builds Resilience,” and “How Laughing At Yourself Can Change the World” featuring President Barack Obama.
I also have a story about our middle son whose pet gerbil, Goatee, was inadvertently targeted as a possible threat by that very same son’s favorite dog – and poor Goatee ended up breathing his last while my son held him and cried. There was much bawling and gnashing of teeth throughout the evening and into the night. The next morning, while we were waiting for the school bus, that son pronounced that when he got home, he was going to bury the gerbil in the flower bed under the window of his bedroom and make a sign that said: “Here lies Goatee. The gerbil who just couldn’t run fast enough.” It was sad, but we can laugh about it now.
Think about your own experiences. Have you ever felt worse after laughing? Have your spirits been raised because you were able to see the humor in a situation? People even have a few sayings related to laughter and life:
- Sometimes, you just have to laugh.
- If I didn’t laugh, I’d cry.
- Laughter heals a hurting soul.
Even the Bible encourages followers to laugh.
- God has a smile on God’s face. Psalm 42:5
- He that is of a merry heart has a continual feast. Proverbs 15:15
- I command mirth. Ecclesiastes 8:15
- Let your heart be merry. Judges 19:6
And even some people who you think would not have a lot to laugh about are quoted talking about it.
- Cancer is probably the unfunniest thing in the world, but I’m a comedian, and even cancer couldn’t stop me from seeing the humor in what I went through. Gilda Radner
- I never would have made it if I could not have laughed. It lifted me momentarily out of this horrible situation, just enough to make it livable. Viktor Frankl
- Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy. Anne Frank
- Those who don’t know how to weep with their whole heart don’t know how to laugh either. Golda Meir.
When Evan turned 16, someone asked if we were going to see about getting him a license (I think they meant ID). We insisted that we were waiting for the organization that trains hamsters as support animals to get back to us about our request for a seeing eye hamster that would be able to sit on Evan’s shoulder and tell him when to turn and when to brake. The look on their faces was priceless.
What about you? How has laughter helped you? Do you laugh at least once a day? Try to take some time today (and every day) to just laugh.
Your situation may be dire, your heart may be broken, your mind may be clouded with scary images, but looking for SOMETHING to laugh about can help you (and me) get through these tough days, weeks and months. Especially now, with our lives disrupted because of the pandemic and with our communities in crisis because of social injustice, take the time to share laughter with your friends and family.
Until next week,
Susie from Stix-N-Stonez
P.S. Here are a couple bonus tales from the “House of Taylor.”
We have a medium-sized brown dog who eschews the huge dog bed and insists on curling up in the small cat bed next to it. We’ve decided that there are times when she identifies as a cat – that her specie identification can be somewhat fluid. My youngest and I think that is something to smile about. Others wonder what’s wrong with us.
Evan has a feeding tube and it closes with the same kind of plug that you find on beach balls and other blow-up toys. We told some friends once that on the weekends, we blow Evan up and float him around the room like a balloon. They said, “Really?” We replied with: “No, of course not! The ceiling has a finish on it that would pop him if he bumped into it.” Looking back, I still can’t tell if they believed us or not.
2 thoughts on “How Deep Are Your Laugh Lines?”
You would’ve gotten along with my Grandpa Boss (a last name, not his job description). He loved to laugh and he loved even more to make others laugh. He’d tell a story to our gathered family and fully expect us to join his laughter and if we weren’t enthused enough in his view, he’d keep elbowing us and repeating the crazy parts to get us all to join in.
Now, whenever I recall him in my mind’s eye, it’s always the familiar scene of him laughing and elbowing someone to lighten our day.
What an awesome memory, Darla!
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