Friday, April 16, 2010

Laugh a lot

As children, we used to laugh a lot. Every small thing seemed funny and tickled our funny bones. Whether it was the way someone dressed or the way someone spoke, we would find everything funny. And yet our laughter was very innocent and not the least malicious. In fact, our laughter was also infectious as it made others also smile and laugh along with us. In this manner, we ourselves were happy and created a happy world around us.

As we grew older and 'wiser', we started taking things more seriously. We started becoming more analytical and skeptical. Some of us even became cynical. We started smiling less and scowling more. Things that once made us laugh now seemed silly and childish. Some of us even show our 'maturity' by controlling our laughter. We feel that people may take advantage of us if we laugh too much or too often.

Laughing is healthy. The amount of stress that we adults accumulate in our day to day lives needs to be released. Laughter is probably the best and the cheapest way to do it and have fun at the same time. No wonder then that laughter clubs are mushrooming all over. All the pent up frustration and suppressed laughter are released in these clubs without any inhibitions. People feel relaxed after a good round of laughter.
However, it is not necessary to join a club to laugh. It only needs a tweak in our attitude and approach. We can literally laugh our way to good health. When we laugh our body generates and releases a lot of positive and good enzymes which not only makes us feel good but also healthy.

On a different level also, laughter makes sense. If we reflect on this world and all its ups and downs, one can really feel like laughing. Realise that everything around us is temporary and neither good nor bad situations will last forever. Therefore, when life does seem stressful, use this understanding to laugh your troubles away. People who have reached the pinnacle of knowledge will tend to laugh at every situation.

"Laughter is a tranquilliser with no side effects" - Arnold Glasow

"Laughter is the shortest distance between two people" – Victor Borge

"Between the laughing and the weeping philosopher there is no opposition: the same facts that make one laugh makes one weep" - George Santayana

"A young man who has not wept is a savage and the old man who will not laugh is a fool" – Confucious

11 comments:

Latha Nair said...

Some of us even show our 'maturity' by controlling our laughter.
I plead guilty to this!
In fact I used to often reflect upon this hesitation to laugh.
We probably attach too much importance to the image that
others carry about us. May be its our vanity that prevents us from
expressing ourselves truthfully and openly.

Somehow this post brought to mind our late PM Narasimha Rao.
I cannot remember even a single frame where he is caught laughing
let alone smiling. Read somewhere that he could speak nine
languages fluently but never made a loud enough impression in
any of them and neither did he with his smile or body language.

Sonal Raisinghani said...

Truly said " As we grew older and wiser we started taking things more seriously"
because as a child we were new to the world .. every small thing made us laugh and enjoy.
But as we grew older we started using our brains, developed some ego levels which created stress within ourselves and stopped us from laughing. To release those stress levels we started joining laughter clubs... and ended up in artificial laughters.
I think only way to laugh heartily is to be like a small child ( like this sweet little girl in your blog). Reduce ego levels and be happy heartily-(a tweak in our attitude and approach). For only when you are happy you will be able to laugh genuinely. laughter is like a sunshine in the house.
" IN LAUGHTER THERE IS ALWAYS A KIND OF JOYOUSNESS THAT IS INCOMPATIBLE WITH CONTEMPT OR INDIGNATION "

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Nothing equals the therapeutic value of laughter and the joy it brings as a result thereof!

I never fail to laugh heartily at a necessary occasion!

Dimple said...

Hello,

What a nice topic :)
Laughter - best medicine....!

Regards,
Dimple
http://poemshub.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Indeed the healthiest response to life is laughter..We must find ways to include laughter in our daily lives.For instance we could become a child,by having a good laugh just watching cartoons..We also generally remember and love the people who make us laugh..

"Laugh and the world laughs with you...Cry and you cry alone.."

Tyaagi

Tshidiso Molebatsi Ogotseng said...

"just smile a while and give your face a rest". Tshidiso Molebatsi Ogotseng

surjit singh said...

I fully agree with your views:
..'As we grew older and wiser we started taking things more seriously" ..'
I like the quote:
Laughter is the shortest distance between two people" – Victor Borge
Images are wonderful.
Thanks for sharing.

Anya said...

Laugh a lot,
and when you're older,
all your wrinkles will be in the right places ....... LOL

:)
:)

arvind said...

its easy..
a laugh - pull out the air from us..
a good laugh ends with a deep gasp..

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