I remember when I first received a text message from someone that included LOL. I thought it meant ‘lots of love’ which was really nice, although it was a bit unexpected from the friend who sent me the message. It was only later when I discovered it meant ‘laughing out loud’ that the message made more sense.

Laughter is something human beings instinctively want: Martin Luther is credited with saying, “If you are not allowed to laugh in heaven I don’t want to go there.” And comedy is fast becoming the new rock n roll, with stand up comedians selling out massive venues. I think it is because people love to laugh and will gladly pay to watch someone who has the gift of bringing laughter out of them.

You can go to laughter therapy sessions where you laugh with others and enjoy the endorphin buzz. I am not sure about that but there is something genuinely therapeutic about laughter. One of the (many) reasons that depression and other emotional illnesses are so awful for sufferers is that they can rob people of the gift of laughter.

What makes you laugh?

Do you enjoy physical comedy and slapstick – the classics of seeing someone slip on a banana skin or getting a custard pie in the face?

Do you find laughter comes from words – jokes, puns, funny stories?

Do you laugh at situation comedies or cartoons in the newspaper?

What makes you laugh?

Sometimes it is good to pause in life and realise the silliness of some of our attitudes or behaviour. It’s worth reflecting on how we can elevate the petty and insignificant actions of others to a place where they dominate us (see most of the ‘feud’ plots in soap operas). Ponder the thought that so many of the things that worry us are beyond our control (the future, the actions of others) that it’s pointless us worrying about them.

And then allow the incongruity to make us smile, allow the smile to become a grin, let the grin make a noise, and let the noise build to a laugh. Don’t worry about the people around you: laughter is contagious and you might be responsible for starting a glorious epidemic! And you might just see things differently afterwards.

Be blessed, be a blessing