Laughter

Laughing is good for you.  Do it everyday.  It can feel so good to just let go and laugh.

Laugh at yourself.  If you can't laugh at yourself, what can you laugh at?  Sometimes I think I find myself laughing at myself more than anything else.  I laid in bed the other morning, not wanting to leave the warmth of the blankets, making bird noises and laughing like a fool at the fact I was making bird noises.  I promise that I have maintained my sanity.  I think back to a time that went running (while brushing my teeth) to let my sister into the building, slipped on a freshly mopped floor, and gracefully fell to my knees, then my stomach.  I made a thud.  I laid there on my stomach and laughed for a bit, my sister completely confused about what was going on.  It still makes me laugh.  Someone asked if I was ok after I got up.  So much less embarrassing to sit there and laugh it off than to get all angry and upset.

Laugh at something you are watching.  A typical Saturday night routine for me is to turn on Saturday Night Live for a bit before going to bed.  I'm not the biggest SNL fan, but from time to time there is a pretty good skit on there that gets the best of me.  That happened this Saturday.  The skit about hair restoration was, in my opinion, one of the funniest they've had in awhile.  I sat there and laughed and giggled.  It's up there with the Oops I Crapped My Pants skit from a few years ago.  The best part is how serious they are...just like the real commercials.

Laugh with someone else.  I encourage you to not to laugh AT someone, but to laugh with someone.  Sometimes it's hard to not laugh about something that happened to another person, but making sure they are laughing first can save you some possible tears and an argument. Once you know it's ok to laugh, let it out!  It's contagious.  The more you laugh the more the other person will laugh, which will make you laugh even more.  Laugh until you cry.  Pay attention to your friend's laugh...how funny is it when they reach that uncontrollable laugh....do they snort, squeak, gasp for air, slap their leg, get horribly loud?

Laughter is great medicine.  And it's cheap.  Everyone can do it.  If you're having a so-so day, find something you know will make you laugh and do that.  It will help improve your mood!  It'll work those muscles in your abs, diaphragm, back, and shoulders.  Laughing even burns calories!  Best of all, laughing is so much better than complaining and being negative.  It can help lift any emotional stress you are under.

Laugh.  Here...I'll get you started: laugh out loud funny.