Tuesday, April 3, 2012


A lot of folks have the motto to keep others smiling.  That’s a commendable practice.  But I wonder how many of those folks remember to take care of the one behind the scenes and laugh themselves? 

In my experience, I’ve found that life’s far more enjoyable, not to mention, manageable, when it’s filled with laughter.  Doesn’t mean you have to laugh all the time, though, learning to do so does have its benefits.  The ability to laugh at one’s self, life in general and those things that could otherwise bring us to our knees helps to empower us to make it through situations we might otherwise falter under the weight of.

Laughing just plain feels good.  It also lightens our souls and affords us the opportunity to wipe clean a slate of daily sludge so we might see things from a less emotional state.  Doing so makes it possible to view things from a more objective mindset so we can map out a clearer path of how to proceed.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you didn’t know whether to laugh or cry?  Though tears serve a valuable purpose in lightening our emotional loads, so too does laughter.  Many don’t consider this when they’re trudging along in the messy trenches, feeling the weight of the world bear down on them.  At those moments, folks, and I’m one of them, may collapse into tears when perhaps a brief spell of laughter would’ve served them better. 

Laughing when all you want to do is cry may take a bit of getting used to.  At first, doing so feels a little like you’re losing your mind, questioning why the heck you’re laughing instead of crying.  I’m not indicating that tears won’t follow.  They may.  But granting one’s self the liberating freedom to laugh for a short spell can prove cathartic as it sheds some of life’s burdens, if only temporarily, from a person’s shoulders.  Then, if and when tears do set in, the person is better equipped to deal with whatever life has thrown their way.

So remember, yes, keep ‘em smiling…but never forget to treat yourself to the same.  : -)

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