“Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.”–GK Chesterton

No other piece of life advice has stuck with me quite like this one. In college, I had this quote on a poster with a cloud background and a funky angel dressed like Jesus in Godspell. For you young ones, that is: like a clown. (It was the seventies, you know?)

Sadly, I lost this poster in my many moves after college, but the quote has stayed with me. My soul needs to laugh, and I love making others laugh, too. It just seems to happen. Often, I didn’t mean my words to be funny, but it turns out they were. 

An early example of this was in junior high with a couple of friends and myself in the counselor’s office. No, we weren’t in trouble, and I can’t remember why we were there. So, the counselor says, “Remember, the eyes are the windows of the soul.” And I automatically blurt out, “Then I’d better clean my glasses.” Everyone but me burst into laughter. It seemed to me that my response had been the only sensible one.

So what makes us laugh? Surprise is key. The unexpected connection of two unrelated ideas that suddenly fit together in a new way?

During the pandemic, I remember seeing an ad to put a photo of a llama on your Zoom profile, to show up in a staff meeting instead of your picture or icon. That was the one time I was sorry that I had just retired!

Why is laughter so important?

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Laughter is the best medicine.” I think that’s true, and I’ve added the link to a great article about the benefits of laughing, but I want to highlight one benefit here. 

When I was a kid, I learned by watching my mom that looking at the positive side of things instead of the negative was good for you. She believed that happy people are healthy people. Now, I don’t think you can take that idea to the conclusion that if you are sick, you can’t be happy. But I think that she was trying to get to the idea that joy and humor can help you be healthy and can get you through hard times. Even (especially?) laughing at yourself, like Chesterton’s angels.

A case in point is a memory from my childhood. My older sister was driving my mom and me to some store. As I got out of the backseat, Sue came around to help my white-haired-but-not-that-old and perfectly in-her-right-mind mother out of the front seat. Noticing several people in the area, she said loudly,

“No Mother, leave your doll in the car!”

I started laughing, my sister gigged, and my mom was giggling so hard that she actually couldn’t get out of the car. We all laughed for several minutes before successfully extracting my mother and going on to shop.

Now, my point is that Mom could have been angry at being mocked and her abilities called into question, but the whole situation was a sudden surprise and she laughed instead. I hope I can remember to respond this way more often!

Next time I will take on another tip for more laughter in your life.

Blessings,

Gail

PS Here’s a book recommendation from Lisa: The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Grann ©  2023

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/laughter-is-the-best-medicine.htm