Laughter Truly IS The Best Medicine

What do you do to have fun? I mean laugh out loud, roll on the floor laughing, belly-aching, fun?

Do you know that this is a really important component of life? When we are too serious and we do not permit fun in to our lives, we grow old faster and our very souls begin to "dry up".

We have one friend who is in his mid-30s who still makes "forts" at his house, and at other friends houses, just because. In describing these "forts" he makes, one is transported to the scene and can't help but laugh out loud. I am speaking about, entire living room "tents" made with sheets off of beds and blankets, pillows inside to sit on, and various household objects holding the "tent" in place.

The funniest thing about this is that he does this with his dates! And yes, even first time dates!

While my husband and I don't undertake the architecture of "fort-building", we'll make funny videos and engage in silly little role-playing.

Sometimes, being "immature" is a healthy thing, it's a positive thing, and it keeps us young.

Do you know that in India there is a phenom called "Laughter Yoga" and this has spread far and wide across the world?

In the mid-80s I was a teenager who was concerned with the whole "image" thing, and any and every little thing adults around me did was a major embarrassment.

One afternoon, my Mum and her best friend and I were at lunch at the Jockey Club in Hong Kong. We'd long finished lunch and had spent quite some time talking, when suddenly Aunty Primrose's face lit up. She had recently learned about this "Laughter Yoga" and decided that right there, in the middle of the Jockey Club restaurant was the time and place to exercise her new studies.

She suddenly began laughing completely and totally out of the blue. Then she began making all kinds of funny faces at us, sticking her tongue out, hands fanned at her ears, it was hilarious. Mum and I looked at her, looked at each other, and then could not help but begin laughing. The more we laughed, the more she laughed; the more she laughed, the more we laughed. It was a beautiful, vivacious cycle of laughter, of fun, and of being completely and totally present.

Out of the blue, I stopped laughing and asked "What are we laughing at?" This just fueled even more laughter what was completely and totally infectious.

Our bellies ached, our faces were wet with the tears that had streamed down them, washing our eyes, and we felt amazing. We felt good. We felt... light.

Several years ago, my girlfriend and I went to see a movie, it was a comedy but it was not particularly funny. However, there was something that my friend saw in the movie that struck her, and she began into a fit of laughter. Her laughter is loud and vivacious and the more she laughed, the more I laughed, the more the audience began laughing; no one was laughing at the movie anymore... or even watching the movie, but each time Cynthia laughed, the entire theatre erupted in uncontrolled laughter.

We laughed so hard, we laughed ourselves into an asthma attack and out came the inhalers, which only made us laugh more.

At the end of the movie, we were laughing so hard that we could hardly walk down the steps. I could hear other patrons saying "They're still laughing" and burst into new fits of laughter.

Laughter is a fabulous workout. It's great for the soul, it's great for the body, and it takes years off as far as health benefits go.

I am sure you have heard the terminology "Laughter is the best medicine", and it truly is. I have had friends who have beaten breast cancer without treatment but by pure determination, change in mind-set, refusal to accept the "C" label, and who laughed themselves well. They ensured that they lived each day having fun, making fun, and being fun.




Of course, each individual is different and many do choose to go the route of medicine, and that is truly up to the individual, but even so, laugh... have fun... be fun... just live with a lightness in your heart and a smile on your soul.

That's how I choose to live my life.

Here's the little silly video my husband and I made tonight... Hope it makes you chuckle.









©Leyla Hur
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