It is without fail that, no matter who you are or where you are in life, you are going to have a bad day here or there, or go through a not-so-pleasant stretch of time when it will feel like things are falling apart and are beyond your ability to fix.
While it’s not exactly breaking news that these things are bound to happen, what sometimes gets lost in the midst of the experience is that we can, to some extent, control how we manage to get through them, and that oftentimes involves doing more of one thing: laughing.
Think about how you feel when you laugh. It involves first cracking a smile, which, as I’ve written about before, is a powerful tool in and of itself. It’s an instant mood-lifter on a day that has been particularly trying.
When a smile extends into laughter, that deep, rich kind of laughter that fills your heart and makes your sides hurt, it’s a true game-changer. It makes getting through tough challenges a little (and in some cases a lot more) bearable.
You have to be receptive to it, though. I admit there are days I’m not. Someone will try to make me laugh, and my initial response will be to crack a bare-minimum smile, preferring instead to do the whole “suffer in silence” thing. It’s a reaction that doesn’t help me through whatever situation I might be in, but I’m human and am, of course, prone to human failings.
But when I am receptive to it, my mood and my feelings of frustration ease up to a significant extent, making me feel more like I can successfully tackle whatever is put in front of me.
I went into Thanksgiving last week with a lot on my mind, having been hit with one thing after another (some big and some small) in the week or so leading up to it. And honestly, though I enjoy the holidays and spending time with family, I wasn’t sure I was going to be much company that day.
But I experienced an instant mood lift as soon as we drove up the driveway to my sister’s house. She and my other sister had walked outside to come help Mom get in the door safely and comfortably, and to assist me with getting everything in that I’d brought over.
They were both laughing as they walked to the car, and it gave me warm feelings, reminding me of way back when we all still lived together and shared the laughs that sisters often do, and of other more recent get-togethers where the smiles and laughs were plentiful.
In fact, the whole holiday was like that, with us laughing and carrying on. My brothers-in-law were very talkative and in good spirits too. Laughter and warmth enveloped the home from start to finish to the extent that my mom remarked how it brought back good memories for her.
We left the house to return home that day, and my heart was so full, with me sincerely believing it was one of the nicest and most enjoyable holidays we’d had together in a long time. I was thankful not just for my family but also to God, who I know had answered a prayer I’d said earlier that morning when I was getting ready for the day’s events.
It sounds cliché to say, but laughter really is good for the soul. As noted above, though it won’t solve all of your problems, it helps ease the stress levels associated with whatever mountain you’re having a tough time climbing.
Leave your heart open to it when times are tough. You’ll be surprised at the good it will do you.
North Carolina native Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah and is a media analyst and regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection.
