I remember the first time my oldest daughter really saw me breathlessly laughing. I was talking with an old friend, who made some sarcastic, inside-joke, only she and I would know remark, and I "burst". As a mother, I have always laughed and even giggled with my kids, but I believe there has always been a sort of "control" about it. If I completely lose it, they will never calm down and go to sleep! My daughter, on seeing this giggling girl of a mother, realized the depth of me, that she will not fully unlock until she herself is a grown up. As I write, I am checking in with myself though, and asking, when was the last time I full out laughed - maybe last week? For a grown up, I guess that isn't too bad, but really?
Laughter is one of the greatest gifts known to humans. In almost every recorded culture in our world, when people come together there is laughter. What people find funny, however, could not be more diverse. Even within ones own culture or even family, you will find very different senses of humor. What is hysterical to one person, causes embarrassment or even pain to another. There is such power in something so simple. Laughter can cheer up, shut down, inspire, relieve, startle, transform, unite, alienate, invite in, exclude, calm down or rile up, and even help to heal. As in most areas of communication, the effect is linked to the intent - the heart of the initiator. It of course depends also on the heart of the receiver as well. in spite of occasionally misunderstandings, I am exceedingly grateful for this extraordinary, ordinary gift in my life.
Angela, laughter really is a wonderful gift, and such a healing force! But you're right. It's a bit complex, isn't it? And yet sometimes, not at all. Sometimes it's just so pure and uninhibited that it can only come from God Himself! I grew up on the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana, and laughter was the way that many people there dealt with the hardships. Sometimes, I didn't get the jokes, but other times I did and felt included and joined in on the laughter.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who trained to be a laughter consultant, something like that. She teaches people to laugh, a very cathartic act, as you've so eloquently pointed out. :)