Laughter Is Followed by Blessings!

Laughter is another name for communication. Communication is to exchange one’s mind and will; so there can’t be laughter between people who don’t share minds and will. Laughter lets people understand each other even if they don’t say what’s in their hearts. So we can say that laughter is the best way to communicate. If you smile before starting a conversation, the listeners must be ready to open their hearts already.

The place where there should be more laughter than anywhere else is home, and the ones we should try to please more than anyone else is our family members. How can we find laughter anywhere else if we can’t find it at home? And how can we make someone else happy if we can’t make our own family members happy? When we share laughter with our family members, even small laughter becomes great strength to cope with crisis.

If the father laughs, the whole home atmosphere changes

At every home, the father’s laughter has a great influence on the home atmosphere. It is true that fathers don’t want to be bothered by anything but just rest when they come home after working all day. If they are forced to smile or laugh at work for a work-related reason, they more desire to rest, not being bothered by anything at home.

A comedian, whose job is to make other people laugh, surprised people by confessing that he was quiet and unfriendly at home. He said that he was not the only comedian like that. It means that since they do their best to make others laugh, they don’t have any energy to do that at home. No matter what the reason is, it is very sad that they can’t make their family members happy.

A boy, who didn’t like studying, brought his test result home. He got an “F” in every single subject except the P.E. in which he got a “D.” His father could’ve been very angry, but he said to his son, “I think you focus on one subject too much.”

It is a story someone made up for fun, but let’s use this kind of humor for our little children. Of course, we cannot discipline them with laughter all the time. However, if we often sublimate an unhappy feeling into laughter, it will have a greater effect than a severe discipline. A serious and patriarchal father is an outdated type. Now humorous and kind fathers who spend much time with their children are acknowledged as good fathers. If you laugh a lot for your family members and please them, then your home will be happier all the more.

Children grow up rightly when their families laugh a lot

Just as there is a saying that goes, “Parents are mirrors for their children,” if the parents laugh a lot, the children also laugh a lot. Children who laugh a lot feel peaceful and relaxed mentally and physically. It doesn’t mean that you must treat your children with a smiley face all the time. If they do something wrong, you need to talk to them with a firm voice. However, when the children feel the sincere heart of the parents, the children admit their faults and repent. Homes with constant laughter have no conflicts or disputes. It’s because laughter already forms an affective bond among family members in such homes. Children who grow up in this kind of homes are sociable, genuine, and wise enough to swim through rough waves of life, overcoming crisis with laughter.

About 80% of juvenile delinquents show that they have never seen their mothers laugh at home. It is more likely that parents who don’t laugh much have unstable personality and set of values. So in homes without much laughter, children are less likely to have right character. There is a very small possibility that bright children who laugh a lot grow to be a juvenile delinquent. Laughter is positive energy, and positive people have a bright and positive attitude for their lives.

Let’s take care of the family’s health with laughter

Laughter is directly related to health. Ancient Greek doctor Miletus said, “The Greek word gelos meaning laughter derived from helo meaning health.” People knew that laughter and health are closely related a long time before the modern medical science discovered the effect of laughter. It is well-known that laughter relieves pain. American author Norman Cousins, who was diagnosed with a rare disease called ankylosing spondylitis which causes severe pain, took 26 tablets of aspirin and 12 tablets of phenylbutazone every day, but there was no sign of getting better. However, as he began to laugh out loud, watching comedy shows, the pain went away and he was able to fall asleep without sleeping pills.

Recently, the number of atopic patients is increasing, but there is no clear treatment because there are various causes. However, a child, whose atopy was so severe that he couldn’t sleep or hang out with his friends, was cured by laughing with his family. Most atopic children are sensitive and are under much stress, but as they laugh, they feel stable psychologically, and their atopic symptoms are eased as well.

Laughter strengthens the immune system as much as a vaccination does, lowers the blood pressure as it relaxes blood vessels, and increases oxygen availability and breath. It also helps cure diabetes and is effective like an exercise. Like this, laughter is the easiest way to take care of the family’s health from little children to elderly people.

How to laugh

1. Laugh out loud

When you laugh, try to open your mouth big and use your whole body to laugh. When you laugh out loud, your heart and mind can open and you can laugh genuinely. If you laugh out loud, it is good for your health as the nerves under your eyes are stimulated, and they help secrete hormones such as endorphins or dopamines.

2. Don’t laugh alone, but together

American author Mark Twain said, “Sadness reduces even if you leave it the way it is, but if you want to get perfect joy, you need someone to share it with.” If you laugh together with someone, you feel more relaxed and you can laugh louder and more; and it has 33 times better effect than when you laugh alone.

3. Practice laughing

If your facial muscles are hardened, your laughter will not look natural, and if you think that your laughter is unnatural, then you come to laugh less. Instead of thinking that you can laugh at any time, try to practice laughing naturally when you are by yourself.

4. Practice Each Day Smile

This is Each Day Smile. Smile Sweetly on Sunday; Smile Magnificently on Monday; Smile Terrifically on Tuesday; Smile Wonderfully on Wednesday; Smile Tenderly on Thursday; Smile Fervently on Friday; Smile Splendidly on Saturday. If you practice Each Day Smile, you’ll be smiling for 365 days a year.

5. Laugh more when you are having a hard time

Just as there is a saying that goes, “We don’t laugh because we’re happy, but we’re happy because we laugh,” try to think positively and laugh when there is a problem that doesn’t seem like it’s going to be solved. It is said that the Jews didn’t forget to laugh even in the oppression of the Nazis. Let’s remember that laughter shines more brightly when you are exhausted and in despair.

Check your laughter index

Grade yourself from 1 to 5 through the following questions.

Never (1) l Not really (2) l Sometimes (3) l Often (4) l Always (5)

Whomever I meet, I greet with a smile.

I try to come up with an idea to make other people laugh.

Even if someone tells me a funny story that I already know, I laugh out loud as if I have never heard that story before.

I like reading humor sections in books or newspaper.

I don’t mind looking funny to other people.

I laugh out loud at least once a day with my family.

I can laugh and be generous even when someone makes a mistake.

I enjoy spending time with other people.

I like it when other people feel happy because of me.

When I laugh, I laugh out loud.

I believe that laughter can make a good relationship.

I laugh to change the mood.

I practice making facial expressions, looking in the mirror.

I have an experience of laughing in a dream.

People look for me to have fun.

I laugh by myself, thinking about something funny.

When I talk, I try to make it sound funnier.

I don’t say a joke that can hurt someone’s feelings.

know the current humor trend.

I look natural when I smile.

I believe that it is natural to smile while working.

I believe that there is hope even in the worst situation.

I have ever changed someone’s feeling through laughter.

I know more than three quotes about laughter.

• 90–120 points: You are a healthy person who always laughs.
• 75–89 points: You can excel in laughter if you try a little more.
• 74 points or less: You don’t laugh enough. You need to try harder.