When is the last time you laughed so hard you couldn’t breathe? The kind of laughter that made you scramble for a tissue and made your ribs hurt the next day.
The average four-year-old laughs 300 times a day, a 40-year-old, only four. If you doubt those figures, watch this clip of my four-year-old grandson, Tyler. Time it! Then do the math. He’s above average.
[youtube id= “7uWZ8Ok_r4o”]If laughter is indeed “good medicine,” we need to start taking bigger doses before the expiration date…………. OUR expiration date.
The facts below are supported by research….
Granddaughter Kialee and I, exhausted from climb to a mountain lake, giddy from the lack of oxygen and helpless with laughter. A day I will NEVER forget
- Laugh and you live longer.
- Laugh and you help other people live longer.
- Laugh and you prove that you believe there is hope.
- Laugh and you make people want the hope you claim you have.
- Laugh and you take yourself less seriously.
- Laugh and you become more attractive. – with rare exceptions.
- Laugh and you relieve pain.
- Laugh and you give your soul and the people around you a peek at the heart of God.
My prayer is that tomorrow your ribs will hurt because of the Joy you experienced today.
If you are wondering what there is to laugh about, a quick glance in the mirror might get you started. Come on! Comment and share your joy!
When have you laughed the hardest?
What makes you laugh?
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This post was inspired by:
- Tyler Scheer – The Master of Laughter!
- Taylor Mason, and Paul Aldrich, who made me choke with laughter at their show last night.
- This article in Psychology Today.
- The One who is the “Author of Joy” and giver of Life fully alive. Thank you Lord for Laughter!
Excerpt
Comments
Laughter is what happened after my wife and I read Fully Alive. Of course, the laughter followed the tears that accompanied the realization that we had been going through the motions for several years. We were successful, but empty. Our comfort grew into complacency. Today, we laugh because no one really knows if we’re working or playing. Come to think of it, I can’t tell the difference myself!
“no one really knows if we’re working or playing.” That is a life fully alive. Thanks Terry.
The video gave me a good laugh! Good times! Thanks
It’s contagious Kathleen!
Ken, I tell jokes that I have told for 3 decades, but as long as the person(s) to whom I am telling the joke has never heard it, I laugh as hard as I did the first time it was told to me. I enter into the joy of their laughter and I feel great because of it. Jokes never get old if there is a new heart near to revel in its laughter.
Steve, That is so true. That may be one of the blessing of my work. I see thousands of people each month who have never heard the old stories. Your philosophy shows in your life steve. thanks
Ha, I enjoyed that. I now have a new workout to try, family friendly unless I drop one of my kids. Great message too.
Thanks Ben, The kids love doing this.
This is adorable and your grandson’s laugh totally had me giggling. Thanks for the laugh and the post!