Laughter is a key to happiness. Yep, in fact, laughter is the most important aspect to being happy -- no Prozac required! We often forget that laughter is a very essence of our spirit.
Laughter relates to communication, too. When we greet one another in America we say Hello which is similar to the Hawaiian's Aloha. Alo - meaning in the presence of and Ha - the pine. The expression Hello was probably originally Ha llo... !
Look at the efforts people will put into making other people laugh. We have TV shows such as David Letterman, Jay Leno, Saturday Night Live, Seinfeld, Friends, The Simpsons, Cheers, etc., which all strive to make people laugh. A whole category of films are classified as comedies. Why? People love to laugh! Clowns at the circus dress funny and do goofy things to make kids laugh, sometimes until they cry.
In theatre, there is the happy, laughing face always portrayed1 opposite the sad, crying face . William Shakespeare utilized2 both in his plays. While we have the tense tragedy in Hamlet, Macbeth or Othello we have the humor in Midsummer Night's Dream or Much Ado about Nothing. Yet, even in tragedy, humor is often used to relax the audience during the most tense moments. Alfred Hitchcock was a master of utilizing3 humor in tense moments in his films of the 40's, 50's and 60's.
In business settings, I have found that when a manager or customer has asked me a question and I felt completely at a loss for the only escape is to make a joke. This relieves the situation and tended to allow people to forgive me for my mistake.
There is a time and a place for humor. If we run around laughing in a church when someone just died we might offend .
Here are 5 ways to incorporate more laughter into your life:
If you feel goofy, let it out.
Feel free to encourage someone through laughing with them.
Watch more comedies than tragedies .
Listen to music or read a book that makes you laugh.
Start laughing for no reason at all.
