Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand. Mark Twain

Laughter is the best medicine. Laughter is good for our health. There are times in our life when if we don’t laugh we’ll cry. Both laughter and crying are outlets for our emotions but most people don’t know what to do when they see us crying.

When we laugh a good hearty laugh our body is physically relieved of tension and stress for up to forty-five minutes.

Laughter boosts the immune system. Stress hormones are decreased and immune cells infection-fighting antibodies are increased, increasing our resistance to disease.

Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, our natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote a sense of well being and can temporarily relieve pain.

Laughter protects our heart by improving the blood flow and is thought to protect us from heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems.

Laughter burns calories and laughing for 10 to 15 minutes per day can burn 40 calories which over the course of a year or a lifetime might be significant.

Laughter lightens angers heavy load. A shared laugh diffuses anger and conflict. When we can look on the funny side problems can be put into perspective and we can move on without holding onto bitterness and resentment.

Laughter may help us live longer. A study in Norway found people with a strong sense of humor outlived those who rarely laughed. This was especially noticeable in cancer patients.

Laughter is more than a respite from sadness and pain; it gives us courage and strength to find new sources of meaning and hope. Laughter is contagious and just hearing someone else laugh primes our brain and readies us to smile and join in the fun.

Is there a better way to bring people together than sharing humorous stories? When we take the time to engage with other people there is usually lots of laughter. We feel recharged after an evening spent in the company of people laughing and having fun. We feel closer to people when we laugh together. Laughter allows us to look at the funny side of life, not just the heavy, tragic side.

Always laugh when you can, it is cheap medicine. Lord Byron

A Georgia State University study found incorporating bouts of simulated laughter into an exercise program helped improve older adult’s mental health and aerobic endurance. Hearing others laugh even for no apparent reason can trigger genuine laughter.

We can bring laughter into our life by watching funny movies, TV shows, YouTube, Facebook is a good place to get a chuckle or two.

We can invite friends, relatives, or co-workers to a comedy club. We can host a game night with friends. We can collect jokes so we always have a funny joke or story to share.

Our pets are often funny and playing with them can make us laugh and put a smile on our face. Children make us laugh. Listening to the children walk to school or play in the schoolyard always makes me smile.

We need to learn to laugh at ourselves instead of taking ourselves too seriously. When we can laugh at situations instead of bemoaning them we can see the irony and absurdity in life. We can try and take negative situations and see the humor in them.

Some people may think, how can we laugh with all that is going on in the world? Is the world helped if we walk around with drooped shoulders and sullen depressed looks? Or is the world helped when we see the humor and irony of situations and do our best to fix what is going on in our circle of influence? As we work within our circle of influence it may widen until we have more to offer to the wider world.

Humor can’t fix the things that are broken. Humor can’t make wrong things right. What humor may do is give us hope, strength, and perseverance to carry on when we’d rather give up, keep going when things look bleak.

Wouldn’t we all rather be around someone with a sense of humor? If we can find the humor in life we will have a better life than if we feel mired in what is hard, wrong, unjust, and must be changed.

Grim care, moroseness, and anxiety – all this rust of life ought to be scoured off by the oil of mirth. Mirth is God’s medicine. Henry Ward Beecher

Thank you for reading this post. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you will come back and read some more. Have a blessed day filled with gratitude, joy, laughter, and love.

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