Laughter is Medicine for Body and Soul

Today a good friend of mine sent me an email with the instructions to laugh. To assist this process there were a series of funny winter photos included. I did get find myself laughing out loud.

This reminded me of a book I read a long time ago by Barbara Johnson titled, Stick a Geranium in Your Hat and Be Happy! The book talked about having a positive attitude despite hardships and suffering. One way Barbara Johnson found to shift her mood was to have a drawer with funny cards, pictures, jokes, stories that she could open and read whenever she needed a laugh and an attitude adjustment. This eventually became a whole room with objects, posters and more.

I am sure we've all heard about the benefits of laughter which range from stimulating organs, releasing endorphins, breathing more deeply, reducing stress, increasing heart rate, stimulating circulation, reducing pain, releasing neuropeptides which improves immune function and just putting the one laughing into a better mood.

Laughter is contagious too. If you're not careful, you will catch it. At a recent conference I attended, the speaker stood on stage and just started laughing out loud. Before long, the whole room was in hysterics. We were simply laughing at each other laughing. There really was no other trigger, just forcing oneself to laugh. Interesting.

I know I can tend to be a bit intense at times, and I am not really sure when the last time was that I had a good, hearty laugh. So, I think I am due for a good laugh. Any suggestions for me?

What have you found (family friendly) that makes you laugh out loud? Do you have a favorite joke, movie or object that makes you laugh?

Remember, every time you leave a comment on my blog in February, your name will be put in a drawing for a gift basket of goodies to be drawn on March 1 (see yesterday's post for details).