Melt Your Stresses Away With Laughter
Laughter can melt stress away like ice cream on a warm summer day.
Victor Borge, known as “The Clown Prince of Denmark” was a extraordinary comedian, conductor and pianist. He said, “If I have caused just one person to wipe away a tear of laughter, that’s my reward”.
If you haven’t had a chance to see any of his performances, he’s hilarious, and has definitely brought more than one tear to my eye.
Laughter tickles the soul and make your heart smile, whether it’s watching a comedy show or movie, giggling with friends or family, rolling on the floor until your stomach and face hurt so much you can barely breathe, or finding humour in yourself, with others, or in situations.
When we can find amusement in ourselves and the challenges we face, it makes them much easier to endure, and can brighten the darkest days.
With all of life’s ups and downs, and sometimes it seems more downs than ups, it’s easy to become caught up in, or overwhelmed by what’s occurring, and we seem to forget how to laugh.
Laughing doesn’t mean taking away the seriousness of things, although sometimes it has a way of making things a lot lighter or even better, but rather a means of moving through them with a greater sense of ease and care.
Laughing can relieve stress, increase pain tolerance, boost our immune systems, increase our learning, and can put a smile on your face or tears of joy in your eyes even through the hardest of times.
That’s why you will see comedians entertaining soldiers at war, and clowns and comedy shows or acts at hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, schools, and prisons, jokes being sent to your in-box, or humour used for raising money for causes, etc.
Millions of people watch video networking sites to be entertained and inspired by someone’s creativity, silliness, or comedy. Why? Because people want to laugh, to be happier, and to forget their troubles even if just for a short period of time.
Think about the teachers you had over the years… I don’t know about you, but the ones I learned the most from, remembered, and was inspired by, were the ones who cared and had a great sense of humour.
If you go to a lecture or take a course, isn’t it more enjoyable when the speaker cracks a few jokes? Aren’t you more apt to pay attention and stay awake if they aren’t droning on, but rather, have the audience interacting and laughing?
Nick Vujicic is another man who inspires and entertains audiences. He was born without limbs, and yet he has found the humour in his situation. He will be the first to share with you that it wasn’t always easy, but through God’s grace, his determination, and seeing the lighter side of things, he is now sharing his messages around the world.
Everyone enjoys a good laugh. It helps you forget about your troubles and gives you hope. Lose yourself in your laughter even if it’s only temporarily. It has a wonderful way of turning a frown upside down at any given moment.
There are therapists who use laughter as a means of working through problems and minimizing anger, stress, sadness, and depression.
Laughter brings out the child in us, the playful, silly parts of ourselves that all too often become consumed with stress and day to day routines.
Sometimes we can’t see the humour in ourselves or situations, especially when we are smack dab in the middle of them, but we can choose to; and it is a choice, your choice.
Watch a funny movie or comedy show, go see a comedy act on stage, be silly, giggle, laugh until your sides and face hurt, be a clown for a day.
It’s okay to laugh. Give yourself permission to feel a little giddy even if only for a moment, you never know what might happen when you do.
Blow up a doctor’s glove and put it on your head and look like a rooster when your child or loved one is in the hospital, put on a pair of silly glasses or a big red nose and walk around town, dress up on Halloween, play a few practical jokes, let the child in you come out to play and remind you how to laugh.
There is a nest of tee hee eggs just waiting for you to sit on, and tickle you with laughter. What are you waiting for?
What are you going to do to create more laughter in your life?
Use the insight technique to find the lightness and humour in yourself and situations.