Laughter is Good Medicine
This weekend I laughed and laughed and laughed. Notice you can’t read the word laugh without at least smiling and maybe giving a little chuckle. It has magical powers, laughter that is. It can transform situations and shared experiences.
Usually, I am pretty good about laughing at my own foibles; however, this time it was my Scottie, Abbey, who was the cause of the laughter. And, unfortunately, she understood that my friend and I were laughing at her, making it even funnier. Perhaps if she could have joined in our laughter, she would have been in better humor.
Let me back track to explain how my friend Karen and I were laughing so hard that we could not breathe. Abbey had spent the day at a professional groomer. The groomer had been frustrated by all of the mats in her furnishings (Scotties have extra hair on their legs and muzzle – giving them the Scottish Terrier look). Anyway, she’d cut all of the mats out leaving a very naked dog.
This would not have been a problem except that the groomer failed to clean up the unevenness in Abbey’s beard, so she came home looking like she’d been trimmed by a drunk blind man. It will grow out, but in the meantime, she looks funny without a full beard and the sides of her face being uneven.
Karen found it funny and kept laughing when she would she would look at Abbey. Then I was laughing at her laughing and this all went on for hours . . . anytime Abbey would move into our line of sight, we would start laughing hysterically.
I would share a picture of Abbey, but she is very upset about the whole matter; especially her Mom laughing at her haircut.
So, why is laughter good medicine? Because it releases endorphins into your brain causing you to feel better and promotes an overall sense of well being. It also allows you to intake more oxygen which boosts your circulation and immune system.
In India they have Laughing Clubs, because they have found that by imitating the laugh you can get the same feel-good endorphins coursing through your body. They start off the session with hee, hee, hee, haw, haw, haw, ho, ho ,ho. This is then repeated until people are truly laughing at laughing. I can’t wait for this fad to catch on in the Unites States.
For me, the true benefit of laughing is its ability to release stress, both from a current situation and also the built up stress that I carry around.
So keep laughing!
© 2010 Heather C. Morrow. All rights reserved
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Heather C. Morrow, owner of Pottery Daily, helps emerging artists express their true value and get paid what they are worth. Her products and services show you how to make more money, save more time while enjoying the freedom in your art. For your FREE audio go to www.marketandsellyourart.com.