Laughter is your best medicine! Nature has bestowed human beings with many gifts which are available from the day we are born. Laughter and smile are one of the most precious gifts nature has given all humans. Using it well or abusing this gift is our choice. When we understand the grandeur of nature’s gifts, we will understand its importance and employ them to our benefit.
Let’s understand the following
What is laughter?
What are the benefits of Laughter?
What makes you lose this potential for laughter?
Suggestions to imbibe laughter in daily life?
What is laughter?
Laughter is a feeling which emanates in your heart, blossoms in your eyes, and manifests in your lips. Children laugh far more than adults. When our life becomes unmanageable, the first qualities we lose are laughter and smile. For some, retrieving this quality becomes an impossible task.
We should laugh with others; this makes our tough moments more manageable. There has been a rise in comedy shows and stand-up comedy programs have become a trend with the younger generation. It has also become a lucrative career for many. We need to avoid one quality which is to laugh at others. This behavior is egoistic and such people tend to gain sadistic pleasure from others’ downfall. Incorporating laughter into daily life can contribute significantly to both physical and mental well-being.
Laughter offers numerous benefits
Managing Stress: Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, promoting an overall sense of well-being and reducing stress. It makes your mind forget the problem for a short period. This space gives the potential to assess the problem and helps to deal with challenges gracefully.
Physical Wellbeing: It can enhance cardiovascular health by improving blood flow and boosting the immune system to function better. Belly laughter has many health benefits.
Emotional Pain Relief: Laughter may act as a natural painkiller, releasing endorphins that help alleviate discomfort. Laughter makes you be in the present moment and you’re able to set aside your emotional pain.
Social Connections: Shared laughter strengthens social connections, fostering a sense of belonging and improving relationships. People want to associate with people who make them feel good and lighthearted. As they say, “Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone”.
Mood Enhancer: We become moody when life experiences do not go our way. This makes you incapable of managing your choices. So, when you experience laughter either by watching a Television program, reading a book, or having a fun conversation with your friends, something good happens. You will find that it enhances your mood and helps you to contribute to a more positive outlook, helping combat feelings of anxiety or depression.
Muscle Relaxation: The act of laughing engages various muscles, providing a brief workout and promoting muscle relaxation afterward.
Proper Breathing: Laughter involves deep inhalations and exhalations, enhancing respiratory function and increasing oxygen intake.
Cognitive health Benefits: It can improve mental function by increasing alertness, creativity, and problem-solving skills.
What makes you lose the potential of laughter?
When your mind is worried about the past, anxious about the future, and excited about the present, you lose the potential for laughter. We will only give a fake smile and not genuine laughter.
When our mind is filled with unfulfilled desires, when we experience negative emotions, when we’re lost in our problems, we seem to lose the potential of smiles and laughter.
Suggestions to imbibe laughter in our daily life
Be honest with your feelings and be considerate with understanding other’s feelings as well. The only way to be unaffected is not to take everything personally.
A stable mind is an effect of having a perfect balance between consistent effort and enormous patience. A well-controlled Mind is neither too excited, nor pulled down by life experiences.
A good laugh and a long sleep are the great cures for everything. Life is the most benevolent teacher. It puts you where your growth lies.
Pay attention to your energy levels. There are energy drainers, and there are energy enhancers in your life. So, associate with those who are energy enhancers.
Understand no one can make you upset without your consent. It takes almost 2 years to learn how to speak. But it takes a lifetime to learn what not to speak.
Laughing with others will make you the most beautiful person in the world no matter how you look.
Only the one who takes proper self-care can bring welfare to the world. Daily contemplation, self-esteem, and proper self-talk are pillars of self-care.
When you find out what you genuinely want, both your focus and your target will attract each other.
Remember, you may not need better gadgets, you don’t need better circumstances, but you surely need a better mindset to deal with life.
Text by S A Sreedharan
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