Right before I worked on this post, my husband and youngest daughter were watching a sitcom on TV. Nothing special about the show — the TV just happened to be on because they’d finished watching our favorite program, The Flash.
My favorite part of those few moments was hearing my husband and my daughter laugh.
One study states that laughter
- lowers your blood pressure
- reduces stress hormones
- triggers the release of endorphins, which are the body’s natural pain killers
Now I wasn’t thinking about all of these health benefits when I smiled at my husband and daughter laughing. Not at all. I just savored the sound, knowing they were happy, they were relaxing, they were having fun.
There’s something about laughter — the right kind of laughter — that refreshes our souls.
And when I hear a child laugh? Ah, there’s nothing more pure, more uplifting than the freewheeling laughter of children. (You should have been there when I took that picture of my friend’s son getting a “lickle” from Pippin. I can still hear his laugh whenever I look at that photograph.)
In Your Words: When’s the last time laughter provided you with an instant vacation? Whose your favorite comedian?
[Tweet “In Others’ Words: The Power of Laughter #inotherswords #quotes “] [Tweet “#Laughter is an instant vacation.” #inotherswords #miltonberle”]With thanks to my writing friend, Jeanne Takenaka, for providing this quote. Jeanne has a wonderful blog that I encourage you to visit, both for the inspiring insights and the beautiful photography.
Comments 15
Laughter is truly the best medicine! My favorite comedian is my husband. Honestly. For 34 years he has kept me in stitches. He has a great sense of humor and can find something funny about most situations, or he just tells a good yarn when I need it. Our children have always said they don’t know what we have to laugh about at 3am (that’s when my honey has to get up for work). They can hear us all through the house. Of course, it’s a small one so it’s not difficult, but the point being they ALWAYS know when we are awake. 🙂
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Anne:
My husband can make me laugh harder than anyone else can. And I always told my children to marry someone who made them laugh.
🙂
I rarely smile, and almost never laugh. “Serious as a heart attack” is how I was described, many times.
But I do have a sense of fun, though some might not agree with my causes for laughter.
Case in point – I now need help into and out of the shower (not IN it, thank God!). So Barbara gives me an arm to help me over the step.
Usually I set the water temperature, but after badly injuring my left hand, with a couple of broken bones, a through-and-through, and numerous lacerations, she took that task unto herself.
She likes hot showers. Mine are at best lukewarm. So I am careful to test the water before entering.
Only this time, I tested it with my injured and, and Barb had set the shower at her comfort zone.
I shrieked in pain, and then dissolved in laughter at the idiocy of it – sticking a just-mangled hand into the hottest of water. It took me a long time to stop laughing.
Barb did not quite see the humour. “What if I had done that, Andrew, would you have laughed THEN?”
Well, no, but it DIDN’T happen to her, and I’m allowed to laugh at myself…for whatever reason.
Andrew, I’ve lost track of how many times you’ve made me grin or laugh by something you said, or a story you shared on a blog comment. You have a fun (sometimes wicked) sense of humor. 🙂
Author
Even serious people, I have discovered, have a sense of humor. (You proved that point, Andrew.)
And yes, sometimes we laugh at the oddest things.
I too, look HOT showers. I once set off the smoke alarm off with my shower. No exaggeration. Lots of laughter, though.
And I love the picture!
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But did it make you laugh, Andrew? Or smile maybe? 😉
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Kinda thought you would, my friend.
One of our boys has a very funny sense of humor, and he’s almost always angling for a laugh. The older he grows, the harder it is to not laugh at something he does or says. He had me chortling last night.
One of my all-time favorite comedians is Ken Davis. LOVE his stories and expressive ways he shares them. 🙂
Author
I love Ken Davis.
And Brian Regan.
And Jerry Lewis.
And Dick Van Dyke.
And Carol Burnett.
And I love it most when my kiddos make me laugh. And they all have know how to do it too. 🙂
I LOVE laughter…my BFF and I were just having this discussion on Sunday. That quote describing it as instant vacation nails it!
BTW, we love The Flash over here too:)
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Susan: Ah, to have a BFF that shares laughter with you — it’s the best!
And The Flash keeps getting better and better!
I’d always rather laugh.
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Agreed.
Sometimes tears are needed. I know this.
But laughter is also healing.
My husband makes me laugh. When we’re together ( and only when we’re together), he will start singing goofy songs, or changing the lyrics of songs that will have me laughing. Sometimes he will be saying something to me, and I will mis-hear a word and start laughing.
Jeff Foxworthy is my favorite comedian. My husband and I still watch reruns of The Dick Van Dyke show. Robin Williams was funny as Mork.