Laughter makes you lighter. Did you Know?

There was this boy who liked being funny and annoying people by cracking jokes. He was a quiet one when he was a kid. He wasn’t much popular in class, didn’t give much concern for social interaction. He was that one who got As and Bs. This happened only until he was in secondary school. Things changed once he got to High School. May be that he wanted to make up the years of solitude he had been experiencing.  He started jumping from one to the other in the class. He didn’t bother about what others said. He launched rockets and paperclips at students and made fun of pasting pieces of stickers on other’s back, while others laughed. He was just trying to be rebellious.  He was the class clown. Students liked him for his jokes and easy-going qualities. He had lots of friends.  Do you recall being a class clown? Not everyone would. 

Being a class clown takes a lot more effort than one think. It’s not an easy task.  You’ll definitely have enough memories to laugh about later. And there are enough of bad days for them. Especially, when teachers went hard on them or got punished. The worst could be getting suspended. Class clowns are funny. And sometimes, being funny works. Having a keen ability to make people smile or chuckle will break the ice and allow them to feel more comfortable in your presence. Having a good sense of humor — for whatever reason — makes people feel that you are trustworthy. Laugh can do wonders. It can bring people together.

Most people take life too seriously. Life is about how we face problems, how we see things or it could be success and failure. There is a limit that our bodies can bear. And when the line is crossed, it all becomes stress. Too much of pain and headache. It can even break at times. Stress is a result of how we see things. We are always concerned about making and achieving goals. Take simple things. We plan what to have for lunch. When lunch is done, we plan the dinner. And then what to eat for next morning  etc etc. We calculate  deposits needed for another 10 years. We formulate what to be done in 2 or 3 years’ time.  We frame things. Life is an exercise of programming and executing. We line up things to be done.  Every day.  And if one of them fails, we keep grieving all day. This is too much. And this is what makes people fall mentally ill.  People rarely see the brighter side. A loss is always a failure. Being able to see a way out through humor and laughter can make life easy. No worries. It can let you fight life for a good long time. Those who know to make a good laugh out of their mistakes and pain take life as it is. While those who weep are unsuccessful.   

 I was a fan of Reader’s Digest years back.   Still there is collection saved on a side of my working table.  I remember lying on my belly at our living room with a copy of Reader’s Digest. The first to read was always ‘Laughter the best medicine’ section. And I use to relate them to Aththamma. She had a good laugh hearing them. I felt good when she was happy.  Feeling happy is always good, instead of fear or worry. You tend to laugh when others laugh. Even without reason. Don’t you?  You laugh looking at photographs. Or you’ll laugh seeing someone who looks like in hysterics.  It happens sometimes.

Laughter makes everything good. It helps us forget unhappy days.  This can be kid logic. Have you notice that it takes a long while for a grown up to smile or laugh? They feel shy. Or they think it’s unnecessary because of their grown up view over life. Sometimes they feel it’s immoral to take life light heartedly. This is why what’s funny for a youngster may not be funny for an adult. Most often.

Laughter is the best medicine. The Reader’s Digest was true. Do you know that laughter reduces physical pain, cure heart disorders and improves lung function? Do you know that it helps maintain healthy pressure levels and can make you live long? People aren’t having much fun. But it’s always good to crack something hilarious now and then. Make yourself a laughing club.

May be we got to be grateful to laughter. It helps us a great deal.


(Courtesy - The Nation newspaper , 11th January 2015)