Laughter is the Best Medicine—This May Surprise You

When I was growing up there was an oft quoted adage:  ”Laughter is the best medicine”.  I can’t say that I gave it much thought; it seemed obvious that it’s better to laugh about something than to be in tears or depressed.  But lately the old saying has taken on deeper meaning.

I know that laughter has actually been part of healing. There’s the well-known case of Norman Cousins, who, after doctors despaired of him, checked himself out of a hospital and into a hotel where he treated himself with Three Stooges and Marx Brother’s movies and got well. Now, there’s laughter yoga, studies that show positive physical effects (boosting immunity, increasing the heart rate, acting as an equivalent to 15 minutes on a bicycle) and plenty of on-line information about the positive power of laughter.

Basically, when something makes us laugh, it begins a mental lightening up. Humor takes away the sense of our situation as heavy and serious. Recognizing that thought really does impact the way we see and feel I find myself more aware of my own mental starting place. I’ve noticed that it makes a difference not only to me, but to those around me.

Countless times, while standing in line at store checkouts, I’ve seen how a lifted and lightened thought can be contagious.  Sometimes, as I’ve waited to check out, I’ve seen that the clerk is very grumpy.  The initial sense I’ve had is that I’m not looking forward to encountering what the person in front of me is going through dealing with the clerk. When I have decided to not take the negativity so seriously and gently push that aside and respond with humor and encouragement in a non-judgemental and open, friendly  manner, I’ve consistently found that the person helping me has been affected by that and many times has become very friendly.

At other times I’ve found that when I find myself the street they turn around as if they truly feel I am looking at them- even though physically it would seem  impossible for them to know that.

Our thought moulds our experience.  The key to the power of laughter is the way it defuses fear, anger, and sorrow.  It’s more than just making yourself laugh.  By disrespecting the imposition of negativity and remembering the very real good that is present instead of it, you can “clears the air”- refresh, invigorate and bring a wholeness to life-  a new basis . The answer for me has been to keep in view that there is a spiritual basis to life – something that belongs to each and every one of us and lightening up can help uncover the good  that we are hard-wired for.