Lately, I have been spending a lot of time around cats. They are very curious and loving creatures. Their antics can sometimes make you laugh. The painting attached to this post is of a cat peering out from under a newspaper. The acrylic painting is 2”x2”. It makes me smile every time I look at it. I hope the person who receives it also gets a chuckle.
The world is a very angry place at the moment. World strife, climate change, conflicts between friends and neighbours, family upheaval, financial woe, and health issues to name a few, can all add to our levels of stress. Most times things are beyond our control or influence. We can get into a funk just listening to the news or reading the paper. Staying in that dark place is not all that healthy for us.
My approach is to look for something to laugh about. Laughter increases the endorphins released by your brain which make us feel happy and even relieve pain or stress. It enhances the intake of oxygen-rich air and stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles. If you have ever been joking around with a friend and started giggling and the giggle turns into laughing so hard there are tears running down your face, that wonderful feeling can stay with you for up to an hour. True laughter decreases your stress responses.
A few months after my husband Bob passed away, almost three years ago, I decided that I needed to laugh. It was during covid and contact with other people was restricted. I went online and bought every Erma Bombeck book I could find. Bob and I both loved her books because they can make you laugh out loud. I also looked for other ways to induce laughter. Watching funny movies or sitcoms helped to make me laugh during a very difficult time, and I listened to audiobooks that were humorous. Employing these resources to make me laugh helped. Since that time, I have made a point of seeking out opportunities to see the lighter side of life. I get the local newspaper, just to read the comics. It’s practically the only part of any newspaper that I read. Recently I was given a subscription to The New Yorker. It also has some great comics. The Reader’s Digest has provided opportunities in my life to smile since I was a child. It seems that humour and laughter have always been my salvation.
If you are feeling stressed or down, look for the healing power of humour and laughter to help you out of that dark place.
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