Laughter really IS the Best medicine
Bahahahah-ing just makes life better. Especially when you're making other people laugh (on purpose.)
6/8/20266 min read
Laughing is my favorite.
Have you ever had one of those gut-busting laugh attacks that were so funny, and made your belly hurt so bad? And you couldnāt stop laughingā¦ And it just kept going and going..?
Those are the best.
Laughter naturally increases endorphins, as well as dopamine, serotonin, and even oxytocin in the right situations.
Which means itās good for your health! (Especially if itās done in a positive way and not a negative or hurtful way.)
As I have dealt with several chronic illnesses, a brain injury, severe trauma, and more, I have often relied on laughter to keep me going. I have dealt with a lot of heavy moments, and all the stress and pain can be too heavy for laughterā¦ but those moments where I actually was able to muster out a laugh, when someone did or said something funny -
boy did it help me feel betterā¦ Even if it was just a little bit.
During my time of adrenal failure and chronic illness, I watched a lot of funny videos, regularly, in order to feel the joy of life again.
It helped me keep living and breathing. Literally.
So hereās a story that made me laugh so hard that tears were streaming down my face.
I was at a restaurant with a friend, and we were getting ready to pay the bill. I had encouraged him to start using Apple Pay so that he would have more options, buuut I donāt think he quite remembered how it worked. š¬
When the waitress came, I asked her if she took Apple Pay, and she nodded went and got her little handheld machine.
She was explaining to my friend (who was choosing to pay) that he needed to just tap on the top of the machine. He didnāt quite fully grasp what she meant, and so he gently tapped on the top of the machine with his fingers a couple times (tap tap), and waited for the machine to work. āŗļø
The thing isā¦ he was serious.
The waitress, with her wide eyes, looked over at me to know what to do, and holding back bursts of laughter, I gently tried to explain to my friend that he needed to tap his card on the machine, not his fingers. š
I couldnāt keep it in anymore and I burst out laughing so hard after the waitress leftā¦ and so did my friend.
We laughed and laughed AND LAUGHED out loud for at least 10 minutes straight -
crying and gasping for air.
I couldnāt stop. My abs hurt so badly, but I just couldnāt stop laughing. I couldnāt even come up for air.
Iām sure everyone in the restaurant was wondering what in the world had happened.
But we didnāt care. We just laughed and cried as long as it took.
Every time I think of that experience I get this tremor in my center and I burst out in giggles. Thankfully my friend still laughs about it too.
I think it's kind of fun when I see something that appears funny to me, to know that my sisters and family members will also think itās funny. I love laughing with them and having funny moments be humorous to all of us.
We just know, and can look at each other and chuckle, when no one else would.
Iāve enjoyed making people laugh throughout my life.
I was happily cast in some commercials to play some funny roles, and had so much fun filming them!
Iāve also played some fun characters in shows and plays, and hope to do more in the future.
My mom was especially talented at playing all the comedic roles in showsā¦
she was SO good.
And so is my dad.
Wit and humor definitely runs in our family. š
Making people laugh makes me happy. Itās a gift I love to give people.
Laughter can break down walls, tension and fear, and bring about relief, acceptance and even connection.
And... I donāt mind looking silly. Itās fun!
In factā¦ Hereās another funny story:
My sister was asked to provide a musical number for an activity that involved the women in our church congregation. She invited me to sing something with her, and instead of selecting a peaceful, spiritual song (as it wasn't in a church service), we pulled our creative minds together and came up with a hilarious number where we would dress up as country bumpkin cowgirls and sing
āCanāt Get a Man with a Gunā.
And of course we would be singing it in our famous hic/slang style. š
Doing something like this was very common for us, so we thought it would be perfect for our ladies group!
Our mom always had a costume room full of all sorts of fun outfits & props while we were growing up, so we were used to not only wearing costumes, but coming up with all kinds of shows and fun skits.
It was in our blood.
So for our hilarious debut, my sister had braids in her hair, and with her cowboy hat, boots, and western dress, she looked perfect for the scene.
I on the other handā¦
found a gorgeous pair of red long johns (equipped with a flap in the back - for convenience, of course š), cowboy boots and hat, and my trusty holster and toy gun, which hung loosely as I tried to keep it up on my hips.
I was a SIGHT to behold!
I don't think we actually knew what the activity was going to be about, and because we didnāt really knowā¦. boy did it turn out to be even more hilarious!
We marched into the church prepped to make everyone laugh, and we go into the room where the activity was being heldā¦ only to discover that the purpose of the gathering was to quietly write letters to all the Missionaries in our church congregation who were serving in different places around the world.
Uummmā¦
We glanced at each other, feeling a little apprehensive about how everyone would react to what we had prepared, soā¦ when it was our turn to git up and do our thang, I scrambled to come up with how I was going to tie it into missionary work. š
Before jumping into our song, we chimed tuhgetha in our hiyick acceyents (sound it out..š), and gaspinā and hollererinā, we pretended that I had lost my gun and that we desperately need to fyind it!
We searched evawhere (the room) fer it. š¤·š»āāļø (It was of course hiding in plain sight, shoved in the back flap of my long john underwear outfit. š)
We did our little song skit - actinā out the words while singing thems twangy harmonies, fussingā at each other during each verse to ham things up.
At the end, in my slurred southern drawl, I said,
āHey, ifān we keynt git a mayan with a guhn, maybe we should jist go owna mission insteyad!ā.
My sister whispered loudly that "itād be beyest if I leyft the gun home",
and after a moment of ponderin'ā¦ I dun agreed. āŗļø
We nodded to each other in our cowgirl ways and then sat down.
Everyone laughed and clapped.
My sister and I were laughing to ourselves much more than everyone else Iām sure. š
Even though it didnāt quite fit the theme of the activity,
I think they still loved itā¦. at least I hope so. š³
The next funny thing isā¦
I needed to go to the bank right after that activity, before I went home.
Sooooā¦
When the activity ended, and we all left the church building, I drove up to the bank, marched right on in, and stood in line in my long red underwear, my boots and my cowboy hat (no toy gun of course šš¼).
The long, uncomfortable stares were hilariousā¦ at least I got a chuckle out of the teller. āŗļø
Iām sure I was quite a sight, but by golly, this little filly needed to git āer stuff dun!
Iām grateful that I don't get caught up in feeling that I have to look so perfectly beautiful and all put together all the timeā¦
I can be fun and silly, covered in dirt, with messy hair, and be jist fyne.
Itās quite liberating!
Iām grateful for all the funny moments in my life, especially when I was able to laugh with someone else.
Laughter makes the world go around in such a better way.
Go find something positive and harmless to laugh about today, and consider it a part of your daily nutrition.
Letās dispel all the stress and heavy energies in our lives with joyful laughter, and lift the vibration of this earth to a happier state.
And hey, if you ever lose your toy gun in the back flap of your red, long john underwear,
or tap an Apple Pay machine with your hand, let me know -
Iāll laugh about it with you. š
~ Lisa