Tag: laughter

Categories
communication Just fun

What’s the Point of Laughter?

group of people having fun together under the sun
Photo by Helena Lopes on Pexels.com

What is the point of laughter? What’s the point of breaking out into a belly laugh or laughing so hard you struggle to breathe? What is the point of it all?

"The most wasted of all days is one without laughter." E. E. Cummings

We feel better when we laugh, don’t we? And why is that the case? Well, if you want to get technical about it, there are plenty of articles touting the release of endorphins and immunity-boosting antibodies, and it even burns calories. And who knew laughter is packed with information?

But is it profitable? Well, that depends. Ask the comedian who has made a handsome living at getting others to laugh. Then again, many class clowns never found a pot of gold. Regardless of profit, I’ve found it’s important to have a sense of humor.

So what is the point of laughter? We could debate it forever. All I know is it makes us feel better and is much better than feeling scared or angry. A day without laughter is a wasted day indeed!

Categories
motivation

Keep the Children Laughing!

adorable baby cheerful child
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

It appears we are living in heavy times. Between plagues and wars, it is enough to bring a person down. But the heavier the situation, the more we need to keep the children laughing.

It is their innocence that gives us hope for the future. Besides, can you really trust someone who hates a child’s laughter?

“Beware of him who hates the laugh of a child.”

Johann Kaspar Lavater
adorable baby cheerful child
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

When a baby discovers something surprising for the first time, their spontaneous laughter can be contagious. I suppose this is another reason I love working in children’s ministry. The pure joy of a child’s laugh is a balm for society’s ills.

I once asked in a post, “Can a baby be too happy?” I thought it was possible then, but not so much today. Bring on the laughter! We could use a lot of it this year.

One redeeming quality of YouTube is it’s easy to find laughing baby videos. I leave you with this clip and pray you will find some joy and laughter on this day. And keep the children laughing!

Best Babies Laughing Compilation

Categories
motivation

Growing Up and Learning to Laugh

Cartoon of two biblical characters complaining

You grow up the day you have the first real laugh at yourself.

Ethel Barrymore

The story of Moses and the Israelites have always intrigued me. Here is a story about a group of people that found their freedom through a series of miracles, yet they had the tendency to moan and groan. Their complaining turned a two-week trip into a forty-year camping ordeal. It was such an interesting story to me that I made a coloring and activity book out of it.

Things would have turned out much better if they had faith and realized how silly they were acting. Of course, that also means things will turn out better for me when I remember to do the same.

This cartoon stands out to me because when I wrote this, I had lived in the same place for years. My address was not more than fifty miles from my birthplace. I had never lived anywhere but Central Indiana until five years ago. Now I see myself in this cartoon and laugh at our adventures and misadventures over the last five years.

It’s not much fun to be around someone who either has forgotten to laugh at themselves or never learned to. I am thankful I have learned to laugh over the years.

Have you learned to laugh at yourself? Let us know in the comments below.

Cartoon of two biblical characters complaining

Categories
Teen Cartoons

Too Busy Having Fun

Cartoon of two kids at an amusement park. One says, "We're too busy having fun to be happy."Can anyone achieve happiness through busy-ness? If you are too busy to remember what you did, is it happiness? If the busy time ends and discontent reappears, was it ever really happiness?

It reminds me of a proverb:

Laughter can conceal a heavy heart, but when the laughter ends, the grief remains. Proverbs 14:13 NLT

Diversion may work for a while, but if you are struggling with something major, get help. 

Categories
Babies

Can a baby be too happy?

Cartoon of a girl commenting on a happy baby. The girl says, "You have an attitude problem. You're just too happy!"
Cartoon of a girl commenting on a happy baby. The girl says, "You have an attitude problem. You're just too happy!"

When I’m not feeling in the best of moods, nothing can cheer me up like a smiling, laughing baby. Nobody ever wants to make a laughing baby settle down. After all, what are you going to do? Tell him to act his age?

I didn’t think it was possible for a baby to be too happy. Then I found this article from the 2010 Psychology Today that reported covered Angelman Syndrome.  This is a rare, neurological disorder that has continual laughter as one of its symptoms. My first thought was:

  1. Mom was right. No matter what it is, you CAN have too much of a good thing.
  2. Now parents have another thing to worry about.

Has someone told you to stop worrying about your child, only to discover later your suspicions were right? Or have you worried about something your child did only to find out everything was fine?