The Funny Thing About Laughter
We humans are extremely fallible. We can offset most of these imperfections by:
OH! ...And laugh. We need to find reasons to laugh whenever we can.
Bacon, eggs and toast - Circa Halloween 2012
Also pictured: Mr. Incredible (who remained in character all night...)Tinkerbell, Peter Pan, Princess Lady Bug and Sailor Moon with proud grandparents happily TOTing behind them allllllll night - sore feet be damned.
Goodness we laughed all night that night. But I digress....
Laughing provides great stress relief. It bands people together. It has also been scientifically proven that endorphins are released into your bloodstream each time you laugh. According to Wikipedia, endorphins are "feel good" peptides that are released by the pituitary gland in the brain. This "endorphin rush" is meant to reward you for doing something "good" for your body. The feeling has been adopted in popular speech to refer to the exhilarating experience - brought on by our feeling pain, in danger, or other forms of stress, supposedly due to the influence of endorphins. When a nerve impulse reaches our spinal cord, endorphins that prevent nerve cells from releasing more pain signals are released. ----That makes laughing especially important to do during the most trying moments in life.
My family is generally weird about most things - especially our sense of humor. We make jokes about inappropriate topics - and usually do so during equally inappropriate times. "Too soon?" is hardly ever applicable - but only bec. we're sick, twisted individuals. (Only partly kidding. Lol.) More than that - we know in our hearts that allowing the grief to completely permeate our joy would be unfair... to all of us.
Two years ago, while watching Oprah (I know, I know...), I watched an episode about gratitude. One of the guests was a gentleman named Randy Pausch. Mr. Pausch was a highly regarded professor at Carnegie Mellon University ... and a man who was dying of cancer. His prognosis gave him only months to live. In the process, Mr. Pausch gave his final lecture on "How to Achieve Your Childhood Dreams." His courage and candor affected my life forever. And though I didn't know it then, somehow bookmarking the link to his speech is especially poignant today.
I have no idea what life is going to bring. All that I can do is pray that I will have the courage to move forward while remaining genuine and open. I will also surround myself with those I love... and laugh while holding them in my arms for as long as I can.
- Living each day with the right attitude.
- Remaining open to learning from our mistakes.
- Apologize properly.
- Strive to be a better person than you were the day before.
OH! ...And laugh. We need to find reasons to laugh whenever we can.
Also pictured: Mr. Incredible (who remained in character all night...)Tinkerbell, Peter Pan, Princess Lady Bug and Sailor Moon with proud grandparents happily TOTing behind them allllllll night - sore feet be damned.
Goodness we laughed all night that night. But I digress....
Laughing provides great stress relief. It bands people together. It has also been scientifically proven that endorphins are released into your bloodstream each time you laugh. According to Wikipedia, endorphins are "feel good" peptides that are released by the pituitary gland in the brain. This "endorphin rush" is meant to reward you for doing something "good" for your body. The feeling has been adopted in popular speech to refer to the exhilarating experience - brought on by our feeling pain, in danger, or other forms of stress, supposedly due to the influence of endorphins. When a nerve impulse reaches our spinal cord, endorphins that prevent nerve cells from releasing more pain signals are released. ----That makes laughing especially important to do during the most trying moments in life.
My family is generally weird about most things - especially our sense of humor. We make jokes about inappropriate topics - and usually do so during equally inappropriate times. "Too soon?" is hardly ever applicable - but only bec. we're sick, twisted individuals. (Only partly kidding. Lol.) More than that - we know in our hearts that allowing the grief to completely permeate our joy would be unfair... to all of us.
Two years ago, while watching Oprah (I know, I know...), I watched an episode about gratitude. One of the guests was a gentleman named Randy Pausch. Mr. Pausch was a highly regarded professor at Carnegie Mellon University ... and a man who was dying of cancer. His prognosis gave him only months to live. In the process, Mr. Pausch gave his final lecture on "How to Achieve Your Childhood Dreams." His courage and candor affected my life forever. And though I didn't know it then, somehow bookmarking the link to his speech is especially poignant today.
I have no idea what life is going to bring. All that I can do is pray that I will have the courage to move forward while remaining genuine and open. I will also surround myself with those I love... and laugh while holding them in my arms for as long as I can.
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