The Joy of Laughter

Dear Family,

 Today’s message is about the wonderful power of laughter, which the Larsen's are very good at.  There are many amazing benefits to laughter which are outlined below.  I hope that you can find ways to squeeze laughter out of those you love this week.  It truly can bring light to almost any situation.  Please share with each other funny stories and good jokes. We all benefit from a good joke. 

I Love you all!

DaD

The Joy of Laughter

When situations become tense and life seems unbearable, humor can work wonders. Have you ever laughed and reminisced with a friend, been to a funny movie, or read a favorite joke book—and laughed and laughed, all the while feeling better? The joy of laughter—if only for a moment—can help relieve tension, ease pain, and soothe an aching heart. It's become a cliche, but it's never had more meaning than now: laughter is great medicine.

Humor's benefits are powerful and long lasting. According to Dr. William Fry, from Stanford University Medical School, laughter is a form of physical and mental exercise. After studying the effects of humor on health for twenty-five years, he explains: "When we laugh, muscles are activated. When we stop laughing, these muscles relax. Since muscle tension magnifies pain, many people with arthritis, rheumatism and other painful conditions benefit greatly from a healthy dose of laughter." 1 A good laugh improves circulation, clears the respiratory passages, fills the lungs with oxygen-rich air, and can counteract fear, anger, and stress. Some have called it "internal jogging."

But, even while laughter is so beneficial and makes us feel so good, we don't do it often enough. Perhaps our hectic lives have made us so serious, so covered with layers of education and sophistication, that we have lost the ability to look for humor and enjoy the lighter side of life. We may be so busy being busy that we do not take time to laugh—even to smile—at anything, including ourselves. Of course, life has its challenges and difficulties, its pain and sorrow; but it also has its joy, its moments to smile and be glad.

Think of children with their ready smiles and contagious laughter. Even in the darkest moments, their cheerfulness is not far below the surface. They see the funny things all around them: the playfulness of a puppy, the tender teasing of an adult, the humor in a cartoon. And, in those simple moments that inspire children's laughter, we see the joy that is each of ours to behold. For, while there is "a time to weep," there is also "a time to laugh." 2

In the words of Chester Cathedral's modest "Prayer,"

Give me a sense of humor, Lord;
Give me the grace to see a joke,
To get some happiness from life,
And pass it on to other folk. 3

^1. Terry L. Paulson, Making Humor Work (Los Altos, California, 1989), p. 66.

^2. Ecclesiastes 3:4.

^3. In Charles L. Wallis, ed., The Treasure Chest (New York: Harper and Row, 1965),p. 157.

May Peace be with you by Lloyd Newell