Friday, November 13, 2009

Joy Diet Ingredient of the Week: Laughter


Ha ha ha ha...

This week did not go the way I expected it to. I envisioned a week filled with laughter, with chuckle inducing knock-knock jokes and funny cartoons. I took Martha Beck at her word that 30 laughs a day would be pretty easy. I expected to breeze through – and instead I stumbled upon some pretty hard truths about myself and my life.

I do not laugh as often as I would like to. I did not make 30 laughs a day, not even close, not once.

When I brought my husband into the project and asked him for some jokes, he somberly said, "You do not laugh nearly enough."

I don't know when this happened. I used to be Little Mary Sunshine. I used to be annoyingly upbeat. I mean, really, people used to complain about it!

I don't know where all that laughter went but I definitely know I want it back. (I do know that some of this is the result of being a mother and putting things that are important to me on the backburner for such a long time.)

So tell me a funny story. Tell me a joke. I'm looking to retrieve some of the joyous lightheartedness I used to have.


Stop by Jamie Ridler's The Next Chapter to see more reflections on this week's Joy Diet ingredient.


10 comments:

  1. I know there was a time during active motherhood that I felt too responsible for everything in our lives and the rest of the world and didn't laugh much. I suddenly discovered that when my kids were 2 and 4; I was visiting my family for my sister's wedding and my brother and I went sledding together, using some cardboard on some old snow. I found myself laughing all the way down, then crying, realizing that I'd lost my laugh along the way. That was 30 years ago. I've never been that old or that somber since.

    This is one of the little videos someone sent me last year that I thought was hysterical - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxUulGkLu4I&feature=fvsr the four laughing babies.

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  2. here's another youtube piece that makes me laugh - with harvey korman and tim conway http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9T8i4FkNVo&feature=PlayList&p=29E800B5CEA5A7D1&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=9

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  3. Try this... you are guaranteed to laugh..

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jedd2FiZTqM

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  4. Sorry you weren't able to laugh as much as you wanted. Perhaps Martha's suggestion of looking for people in your life that make you laugh and spending more time with them. Youtube videos are good for some momentary laughter, but laughing with other people is the best!

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  5. I have to agree with you. Laughter is not filling my life - and I do miss it. I am no longer light hearted. But we can recapture it. I hope!

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  6. I have begun to work on regaining my ability to laugh this week and it has been fun. My husband and I just had a great laugh together. I told him a joke that I read on one of this week's posts. I think if we start to find other people who also want to laugh that may help. It certainly will be fun to be around people who want to laugh. Thank you for reading my story and leaving a note. Have a great week filled with laughter and fun.

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  7. The great thing about this chapter is that you can start to think about the things/people that make you laugh and add them in.

    I hope you find the laughter and fun for yourself. This world makes it so easy to forget the fun.

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  8. I totally understand your feelings. What happened to the laughing me????
    I've found that this week's posts from others really boosted my humor, and I hope that happens for you as well, and that we both forge a laughing way into the future.

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