Laughter
Dear Friends,
Did you know that a typical child laughs 400 times a day, while the average adult manages only 15? What happens in life to make adults lose their laughter? Do we stop laughing because we get old, or do we age because we stop laughing?
Laughter is defined in one dictionary as ‘expressing certain emotions, especially mirth or delight, by a series of spontaneous, usually unarticulated sounds, often accompanied by corresponding facial and bodily movements'. The definition itself makes me want to laugh.
Scientists have a variety of theories about why people laugh. One suggests that laughter is related to surprise. A baby is startled and starts to cry, but instantly realises there is no danger, so the cry turns to a laugh. Another similar theory is that we laugh when something is incongruous. In other words, we are confronted with two things that don't fit together. That may be what caused Abraham to laugh in Genesis 17, when he was told that he and his wife Sarah would be pensioners with a pushchair!
In the book ‘The Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient', Norman Cousins writes about being hospitalised with a rare, crippling disease. When his illness was pronounced incurable, Cousins checked out of the hospital. Aware of the harmful effects that negative emotions can have on the body, he reasoned the reverse must also be true, so he prescribed his own treatment. This involved watching Marx Brothers' films and old Candid Camera reruns. It didn't take long for Cousins to discover that 10 minutes of laughter provided two hours of pain-free sleep. Prior to that, even his potent medications were unable to relieve the pain caused by the severe inflammation of his spine and joints sufficiently for him to get to sleep. Amazingly, his debilitating disease was eventually reversed. After the account of his breakthrough appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, he received more than 3,000 letters from appreciative physicians throughout the world. Numerous studies have since confirmed the value of laughter in healing.
Isaac Watts' Christmas carol, ‘Joy to the world' declares: "Joy to the world, the Lord has come. Let earth receive her king." Joy has come to the world, for the Lord of Joy has come. But if joy is to be truly experienced by individuals who live in the world, then the Church and the Lord's followers must actually receive their king.
I think many of us have become far too serious. Erma Bornbeck says, "We sing, ‘Make a joyful noise unto the Lord' while our faces reflect the sadness of one who has just buried a rich aunt who left everything to an animal shelter."
Why don't we rediscover the child within? If we do, we'll release endorphins which will do us good and also the people around us. It takes 26 muscles to smile and 62 to frown. Why not make it easy on yourself?
As the good book says: "A cheerful heart is good medicine." (Proverbs 17:22)
May you know the Lord's Joy around the compass and around the clock.
Agapé,
J.John
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