Tag Archives: Laughter

Find The Funny In Your Days

Posted in Divorce, friendships, Humor, Life, Marriage, Moms, Mother-In-Laws, Psychology, relationships, Spiritual, Women by

Some gals holler, others get very, very quiet. How do you let people know you are mad? Personally, I’m a walker just let me go for a long walk and talk it out to myself and then I return a different gal. How about you? Are you a cupboard door slammer or maybe you just get very, very quite. Emotions are interesting things aren’t they?  We all have them, we are all affected by them, and we all try to hide them sometimes.

Then there are those gals who cannot hide their emotions and are subject to comments like, “she wears her heart on her sleeve”  or “It is written all over her face.” “Twitching eye-brows, clenched  jaw, blushing checks and pursed lips are telltale sign of our inner fluttering hearts, churning stomachs, indignant sensibilities, or raging hormones. But emotions don’t like to stay hidden for long. In subtle, or not-so-subtle ways, we broadcast our feelings to the world.

Our emotional vocabulary includes some pretty interesting phraseology. We talk about our stomach dropping out, our heart stopping, or blowing our stack. We feel  down in the dumps, hopping mad, in a tizzy, all choked up, in a funk, sick at heart, swamped, and at odds with ourselves. And when it is time for these emotions to come gushing out they take many forms: temper tantrums, endless ranting, sleepless nights, mood swings, critical attitudes, blind rages, constant complaining, pity parties and hissy fits. Unfortunately these very popular options have some serious consequences and if you have experienced  venting to a friend, co-worker or spouse and they have betrayed you by gossiping or even ending the relationship then you clearly understand how hurtful and embracing venting to the wrong person at the wrong time can be.

Proverbs 29:11 says. “Only a fool vents all his feeling, but a wise man hold them back.” That doesn’t mean we should bottle it all up. No, Even God knows we just need to release some of that inner turbulence carefully. Do you have someone you can trust, someone who will never tell what comes up during an angry spat, someone who can listen with understanding, someone you can vent to? Though it comes most naturally to let off steam in the form of angry words or bitter complaints, laughter is a wonderful alternative! Remember the advertising ” Don’t get mad, get Glad!” t.m. Have you ever turned a frustrating event into a funny story? Try it and see if it changes how you feel about the situation. We can sigh about things, or we can laugh. Both these responses release pressure, but which is  the most fun? We laugh so we won’t scream. What ever it is probably won’t go away, so we might as well live and laugh through it.

When we choose to release some of our frustrations with laughter, we allow others around us to relax and join in the chuckle. It’s  not hard to spot complainers, with their furrowed brows and down-turned lips. Their ways of  venting can be downright depressing to those who are forced to endure them. The next time you encounter someone in a such a state of disarray, interrupt their coming tirade and commands, by ” putting your eye brows up.” It might sound silly, but it works. It’s very hard to maintain a frown with arching your eyebrows. First try it on a child their expressions dissolve into a smile and a giggle. Then, their concerns can be talked about without the stormy face. Try it! Remember that in the midst of our fears, our worries, and our stresses, God encourages us to call for Him 24/7 at no charge. We won’t get a busy signal or a voice mailbox. He’s right there, waiting for us. You might  even try texting Him who knows…

Clearing The Cobwebs

Posted in Life by

How do you let people know you are mad? Some gals holler, some are cupboard door slammers and others get very, very quiet.

Emotions are interesting things. We all have them, we are all affected by them, and we all try to hide them, at one time or another.

Those who cannot hide them well are subject to comments like “she wears her heart on her sleeve” or “it was written all over her face.” Twitching eye brows, clenched jaw, blushing checks, and pursed lips are telltale signs of our inner fluttering hearts, churning stomachs, indignant sensibilities, or raging hormones.

But emotions don’t like to stay hidden for long. In subtle, or not-so-subtle ways, we broadcast our feelings to the world. Our emotional vocabulary includes some pretty interesting phraseology. We talk about our stomach dropping out, our heart stopping, or blowing our stack. We are down in the dumps, hoping mad, in a tizzy, all choke up, in a funk, sick at heart, swamped, and at odds with ourselves.

And when it’s time for these emotions to come gushing out, they take many forms: temper tantrums, endless ranting, sleepless nights, mood swings, critical attitudes, blind rages, constant complaining, pity parties, and hissy fits. Unfortunately, the  popular clichés people say about us to describe how we react when we are mad contain words that are not very flattering are they?

The next time you lose control think about this statement: Only a fool vents all his or her feelings, but a wise man or woman holds them back. But that doesn’t mean we should bottle them all up. No, it means you need to release some of that inner turbulence carefully to someone you trust.

Do you have someone you trust, someone who will never tell what comes up during an angry spat, someone who can listen with understanding, someone you vent to?  Even though it comes most naturally to let off steam in the form of angry words or bitter complaints, laughter is a wonderful alternative! Remember the advertising slogan: Don’t get mad, get glade! Have you ever turned a frustrating event into a funny story? If you haven’t try it!

We can sigh about things, or we can laugh. Both these responses release pressure, but which one is the most fun? We laugh so we wouldn’t scream. Whatever is probably wouldn’t go away, so we might as well live and laugh through it. When we choose to release some of our frustrations with laughter, we allow others around us to relax and join in the chuckle. A woman or man who is willing to find the funny in their day is unmistakable more pleasant to be around than the one who is angry and venting about how their day went.

The truth is that every day has its share of stress. When you feel like an aerosol can because you are under too much pressure, find a listening ear to act as a safety valve. Throw a pity party for your friends so you can all get it out of your system at once. Drown your fears in compassion for each other and then rise up and give yourselves a great big hug. Encourage each other, pray and hang in there!

Laugh Like Kids

Posted in Chidren, grandkids, Grandparenting, Humor, Life, Parenting, relationships by

Have you ever notice how much energy children have? Granted, they’re flinging around bodies that weigh twenty to sixty pounds while you and I weigh… never mind, let’s not go there.

But my point is that kids are indefatigable or another way to put it is that some times they seem to be incapable of being fatigued.I noticed the other day after a few hours playing with my grandsons I was all tuckered out, and needed to take a nap. As I dosed off I thought to myself I would love to be able to bottle some of their energy. Just bottle it up, and take a swig whenever I was dragging. Can you just image how much money I could make if I sold their energy in a bottle?

Whizzang! Just image that suddenly you’d be Superwoman if you had the energy of a child. If you were at work, your fingers would suddenly be flying on the keyboard at an amazing pace. What if you had the energy of a child while doing housework?  You’d have the beds made, dishes washed, socks darned, and chimney swept in the amount of time it use to take to fluff your pillow for your afternoon nap. Coworkers would gape in amazement. Friends would be amused and stare. Your husband would have to eat an energy bar just keep up with you. They’d be thrilled with your performance at work and the way your kitchen sparkled.

But my guess is that sooner or later they’d question the Crayola scribbles in the hallway, the grass strains on the knees of your best pants suites, and the distracting way you’d have of jumping up and down, blowing spit bubbles or sticking your chewing gum under your desk whenever someone was trying to get your attention.

So! Maybe we don’t really want all the energy of a kid. Still, maybe we can pick up a few pointers from the little people in our lives. Kids have such vitality. Such zest for life. They posses wild imaginations, boundless energy, and limitless passion. These are things I miss from my youth. I don’t know about you, but I would love to recapture some of the youthful zeal that characterized my life before grown-up responsibilities, problems, and anxieties started.

What secrets do kids have to share about youthful living(at any age)? What wisdom can we glean from their zestful ways? 

Lets find out. A smile a minute. A study recently revealed that children, on average, laugh four hundred times a day. Wow! isn’t that awesome? 

The same study revealed that adults laugh about fifteen times in a day. That’s not very awesome is it?

That means that our children and grandchildren are  finding something to laugh about almost every other minute.  You and I, on the other hand, are lucky if we chuckle once each waking hour. You think we might be onto something here? Do you want to feel younger? Laugh. Here are a couple of ideas that might help us to be mindful to laugh more. Write down things that make you laugh.  Is there a certain movie that tickles your fancy?  Or a humorous writer?   How about a favorite cartoonist? 

The other suggestion is to, at some point in your day, find a way to incorporate extra laughter into your day. I don’t know about you but, when I want more laughter in my life I read The Cat In The Hat books to my grandson’s and before I turn the first page we are laughing.

I still laugh when I watch some of the old black and white cartoons that I grew up watching. Sometimes watching reruns of my favorite sit coms on T.V. will get me laughing too. The third idea is well… a little zany. But I promise you wouldn’t regret trying it.

 As kids, my friends and I had this game. We would start laughing for no reason. One of us would begin the game by forcing a laugh. Not a ” ha ha ha“, mind you, but a “ha ha ha ha ha ha ha…” The person who starts the game is merely saying the word “ha” over and over. It sounds artificial and impotent. Then as the laughter begins you will feel the urge to apply some stomach muscles. You wouldn’t be laughing uncontrollably but it’s a pretty good imitation. It’s starting to coming from the gut. It sounds convincing. Usually with in a few minutes things will be in full swing and before you know it your eyes will become watery, you will experience belly laughs, giggles, and even aching ribs.

Before you know it you’ll be pinked-checked from giggling, guffawing, and gasping for air between round of laughter. We use to laugh ourselves into a state of genuine, uncontrolled, urgent  and howling hilarity. My laughing buddies are  my grandchildren if you don’t have any borrow one from a neighbor and ” ha ha ha ha ha ha” until you see stars or almost need CPR, which ever comes first.

Sometimes you wouldn’t have any idea why your laughing, But you’ll be glade that you are. If none of these suggestions work for you try putting a pillow case over head while jumping up and down on your bed I know that’s just zany isn’t it? Just laugh…