We hear the sound of laughter in the next room, it makes us smile. We see a child laughing their little head off at the silliest thing, we chuckle. Someone cracks a funny joke and we all roar with laughter. Jocularity is not only infectious but it is a necessary part of your well being, both mental and physical health. Laughter boosts your physical health through boosting your immunity, or at least it is suggested by Dr  Patch Adams. There are numerous research articles on the same topic of laughter and improvement of health. Moreover there is an endorphin release when we laugh that makes us happier and with it stronger in mind, spirit and consciousness.

Roaming around everyday stressed, frowning and angry leads to negative emotions and depression. Walking about with a happier sense of being with the ability to laugh at the tip of your mouth leads to a more positive robust attitude towards life. It is not just laughing for the sake of laughing, yet being able to laugh at something comical or moreover at something that you have done is an art in itself. Laughing at oneself is not only humbling but it is self deprecating. It allows for a more complete look at yourself and then the  realization that you are who you are, and you can make mistakes, yet more over you learn from them. As I like to say” live and learn and then learn and live some more.” The laughter brings in the spirit and the ego to the same playing platform where ego admits to the silly nature of whatever you have done and the spirit can laugh with and not at the ego-self.

Laughter brings out honesty as even if I were to try to hide a secret, the guilty laughter or the nervous laughter is revealed. Laughter brings us all together. Just see this unfold at a comedy club, where even when the audience are being made fun of, yet everyone joins in together with loud belly sounds of amusement. We can sit together and laugh at jokes made about race, sexuality, gender, political or even religious affiliations all in the name of comedy, even if that ridiculed subset is us.  Why do we do this to ourselves? It is probably the subconscious that is having its “day in the sun.” It is through laughter prejudices are overcome. In days long ago only the court jester could poke fun at the King, up to a point of course, and it was considered acceptable.  There are so many different ways to laugh that is unique to the individual such as chuckles, cackles, guffaws, giggles to belly laughter. In any event it is a de-stresser  and a way to calm down. Once calm you become more momentarily aware of the reason for laughter and have time to process it. If the target of the joke is about a “touchy or sensitive” topic related to mainstream issues then the laughter resets the guarded nature of the conscious and enables your unconscious to assimilate your prejudices and allow your true Self to chime in with  Your opinion on the topic. If I listen carefully during these quick and brief moments, I find that I am not prejudicial and can be swayed back to MY opinion of non judgmental points of view rather than that which is thrust upon me by media and literally everyone I speak to.

Laugh a little or laugh a lot the choice is yours. Laugh with your belly or laugh with your heart, it does not matter. What matters is that you laugh sincerely. You have heard the joke ” Why did the chicken cross the road?” There are so many combination punch lines to this joke over the years that some are funny and some are simply corny, yet this joke always will get a laugh or at least a chuckle. Whether it crossed to the other side because it wanted to, or just because it could, I do not know why it crossed the road or even if it did or even if there was too much traffic for it to cross. Which road was this? Did the chicken have faith that it could cross the road? How fast did it cross the road? We will never know the answer yet perhaps that is why we laugh at this joke, namely we laugh at the not knowing why, and the remarkable nature of the certainty of the unknown. What frightens us of the unknown is equally dismissed with laughter. This rapid movement of our chest with loud noises that emanate are a source of strength building in the face of anything that may give us cause for concern.

Why did the chicken cross the road? No idea but wouldn’t it be a funny sight if it did. HA HA HA !!!