Day 10 – Laughter is Medicine!

Okay, so I am not really good at writing humor, although I certainly believe laughter is one of the best forms of medicine!  It breaks the mesmerism in thought about whatever the problem happens to be that one is facing.  

Here are some quotes I found that support the importance of laughter or humor as it relates to health.

• “Always laugh when you can, it is cheap medicine.” –  George Gordon Byron
• “Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God.” – Karl Barth
• “Humor is the contemplation of the finite from the point of view of the infinite.” – Christian Morgenstern
• “A good laugh overcomes more difficulties and dissipates more dark clouds than any other one thing.” – Laura Ingalls Wilder
• “Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it.” – Bill Cosby

In person, I have been told I am very humorous and have great timing.  The other day, a friend of mine told me I should be a stand-up comic.  I don’t see it, but glad I am helping others laugh! 🙂  I think my humor can be quite sarcastic at times too, so it takes people who get sarcastic wit! 🙂

I would like to share an incident in my life where laughter broke the mesmerism in my thought of being down and out and not really caring about anything or anyone.

When I was a junior in college, I became quite ill and didn’t know what was wrong with me.  My mom and dad dropped everything in their lives – work, social functions, etc. and came to my college to pick me up and bring me home. (As an aside, I always knew my parents loved me, but this was the first time I think I really understood how much – that they would drop everything to be with me.  How grateful I was and am to have had them in my life.)

I ended up in the hospital, having never been to one before.  I had always had healings of physical challenges through prayer alone throughout my childhood.  While there I became sort of lost mentally – wouldn’t really talk to anyone, felt miserable, etc.

My mom had hired a Christian Science practitioner to pray for me and he was.  However, at one point she asked him if he would call me (usually patients call the practitioner).  He agreed and called me while I was still in the hospital.  The first thing he said was, “Hello, this is your Majesty speaking.”  Imagine this with a British accent!  I have to tell you, the line itself may not be funny, but it struck me as funny and made me laugh and that was enough to break the mental funk I was in.

From that moment forward, I was upbeat, looking forward to leaving the hospital, craving the spiritual truths as found in the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, asking my mom to read to me, listening to healing hymns from cassette tapes (yep, that is what was around back then) and generally experiencing healing with such rapid progress that the doctor didn’t know what to make of it. You see, he had never met a Christian Scientist before and my joy and cheerfulness and speedy recovery was foreign to him.  But, I think Dr. Vara learned a “vara” lot that day and over the days and weeks that followed, as I had to go in for a couple of follow-up visits.

Martin Luther King, Jr said, ““It is cheerful to God when you rejoice or laugh from the bottom of your heart.”  So, have you laughed today?  Try it and let it bring some healing to your life!