The Secret to Serenity: Burst Out In Laughter … and Bring on The Sunshine by Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway

"Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you." --Maori proverb

We have all had those days when nothing seems "serene"; when in fact everything that can go wrong does go wrong. When the check is not in the mail, the dog pees on the rug, and the dry cleaner lost your favorite shirt … it is very easy to get frustrated and bent out of shape, and lose your sense of balance, and worse, your sense of humor. Once your sense of humor is gone, life can become so un-fun!

There are a lot of things in life that can lead us down a bumpy, grumpy path. Some are far more painful and vexing than others. But there is one thing that can snap us out of it in a nanosecond: Laughter. You can do it with anyone safely, and it’s mess free, drug free and it doesn’t require a condom. A good laugh alleviates tension and makes you feel good all over.

Laughter is like medicine and studies show that when we laugh, physiologically, it is impossible to be depressed or sad. Like a quick fix of fun and an easy-to-access mood elevator, it helps uplift us and heal us. Even if you are not in the mood to laugh, the act of laughing will make you laugh. Then you can see there is an entire world around you just waiting to give you a good hoot, and to point out the hilarity of being divinely human.

We all need comical relief, and time out from tragedy and challenge. We can help heal ourselves – and our friends and family – with humor and laughter. If you, or anyone you know, is suffering from humor deprivation … its time to have a good laugh. It costs nothing, yet helps you gain a new attitude and perspective. Laugher brings sunshine into your life. No matter how bad things get, or how awful they may seem, your world can change with the simple movement of your facial muscles – a slight twitch of your lips that starts as a smile and grows into a big, loud, hilarious laugh.

There is great power in a good laugh, especially when it is pursued mindfully and, particularly, when shared with friends. Here are some Simple ways to bring their laughter and sunshine to everyday life:

Greet the Rising Sun. People in Japan welcome each day with prayers and hand clapping each morning. This can be a stimulating warm up to the start of a brand new day. Just the act of clapping will be a wake up call to your body. Clapping makes you feel happy and joyous! Remember that favorite kiddy song, If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands.

Share laughter and light with friends. You don’t have to be outrageous and totally wacky. Friends can share a laugh together over the most mundane and silly things. From rural areas to urban cities, in the middle of Manhattan to a farm on Montana, we can always gather with a friend or two to express gratitude for a new day’s sun and share some laughter.

Share a happy meal. Just one breakfast meeting a week with people of similar sense of humor is great medicine for the soul. Order your meal, say thanks for a new day, and celebrate by sharing laughs, cracking jokes, and being goofy. You can have joke contests and funny story telling fests. If you are not good joke tellers, buy a book of jokes and practice on each other. Stay in touch with your friends during the week by e-mailing each other the best Internet humor you can access.

Create a deck of "Happy Cards." Buy a pack of plain index cards and some pretty magic markers and write individual sayings, jokes and quotes that make you laugh and bring sunshine to your life and to others. Keep them in a special box, or a decorated coffee can, and reach in any time you need a laugh. Offer them to friends, like brownies, when they come to visit. Even if they laugh at you for having "Happy Cards" in a coffee can it is worth the effort.

Let’s go fly a kite. If you have not done it since childhood, you will really have fun. Make sure that as it flies you send your wishes to heaven. Pray for a life of serenity and sunshine that is filled with the sound of laughter! Even if the kite dives, you will have set forth a positive intension and seasoned it with a laugh.

Start a good mood virus. If you long to be the ultimate fun bunny and favorite friend that everyone wants to be around, take responsibility for spreading good cheer. When we allow ourselves to feel good and filled with joy, we radiate it. Just as our bad moods can be contagious, our good moods can pave the way for many miles of smiles. If we smile, people smile back; if we laugh, they chuckle too!

Laugh like crazy. If you are with a small group of friends who are not feeling too peppy, or just one bummed out buddy, and you want to break the bad mood … start laughing. This is not something you would NOT do at a funeral, obviously, but in a non-emotionally charged situation where the room, and people in it, need a new burst of energy and sunshine. Break out in laughter. Start slowly with a straight face, so they don’t even know what you are up you. Then formulate a smile… then turn it into a chuckle… then build into a contagiously happy laugh. They will think you are insane at first, until they can resist no more… the laughter will sneak up on them and out of them. Just keep laughing like crazy, and see if one person can resist the allure of that wild laughter. It will fill the room with a burst of laugher and sunshine!

Keep smiling. Every time the sun fades lift the sides of your mouth into a smile. Remember – you cannot be depressed when you are smiling.

Take humor risks. When you are in your head, do something just a little wild to get out of it. And do the same thing to help a friend who needs a good laugh. The Greek Goddess Baubo once lifted her skirt and exposed her privates in order to get the heartbroken Demeter to smile again and bring the sun and flowers back to the earth. What can you do to top that?

Affirmation:
"A good laugh a day keeps the darkness away"

© Copyright 2003 Reverend Laurie Sue Brockway  All Rights Reserved. 

May 2003 - "A Gathering of Goddesses: Our Girlfriends Keep Us Real"

Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway is an interfaith minister who is often called upon to teach, speak and write about women’s spirituality and The Feminine Faces of God. She is author of, A GODDESS IS A GIRL’S BEST FRIEND: A DIVINE GUIDE TO FINDING LOVE, SUCCESS AND HAPPINESS, from Perigee Books, December 2002.

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