If you don’t learn to laugh at trouble, you won’t have anything to laugh at when you’re old.
Edgar Watson Howe
We don’t develop courage by being happy every day.
We develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.
Barbara De Angelis
Laughing at times of adversity is necessary. It helps us get through the hard times. It helps us know we’re alive when we need to remember it.
Sometimes it’s a wry chuckle or sometimes it’s hysterical laughter. But laughter is laughter. If you can laugh you know you’ll be ok because laughter touches our soul and helps to relieve the burden.
In Monday’s blog post you met Lee who is a remarkable example of someone who remembered to laugh while going through some of the most trying times of her life. And in the book Ha! The Science of When We Laugh And Why cognitive neuroscientist Scott Weems says that humor actually helps us to process conflict. The dopamine that is released when we laugh actually relieves tension.
So the next time you are struggling to overcome adversity, try to remember that anger and sadness are not the best choices. Instead, choose humor. Sometimes you can fake laughing until you make it with real laughter. Other times, you need some girlfriends to laugh with. And, sometimes you just need a cute cat video or one with fainting goats. Just laugh. It’ll help.
I don’t know anything about laughter. 😉
I love laughing — but a few months ago I realized that I don’t laugh as much as I used to, so I’ve been paying attention and looking for more opportunities. Life is not stressful but working from home and being a semi-empty-nester means limited natural opportunity. My high school yearbook quote was: Laugh and the class laughs with you, but you stay after school by yourself! Thanks for the encouragement.
I love to laugh. Humor, yes, even potty humor, is a part of my everyday life. My mother and her girlfriends found the fountain of youth through laughter. They are all in their 90’s.
A year ago, I was going through one of the most difficult times in my life. One morning, I was describing my situation to my yoga teacher, and she pointed out every funny aspect of it. From then on, my mantra was, “I will keep my sense of humor!”
That’s a great outlook. Sometimes it takes someone else looking in to see the humor for us.
So important, especially now!
Agreed. More important now than ever.
I’m so glad I have my two dogs. They make me laugh all the time and they’re good cuddlers too.