Joseph Hellon
When did you last have a hearty laugh? When did you last break out into spasmodic peals of laughter? When did you last crack up like fireworks as you laughed in the name of joy and happiness?
When did you last laugh till tears flowed down your cheeks? Laughter is good. It is the medicine of the soul. It’s also a powerful pain killer.
Those who laugh often tend to carry on living healthy lives without any threat inspite of their advanced ages.
Scientists are connecting maladies such as arthritis to the overall emotional health of a person. In some of the counselling sessions I’ve conducted over the years, I found out that bone problems tended to affect those who were most angry, resentful and bitter.
Of course, there are cases where bone or joint diseases occur genetically and has nothing to do with emotions. However, more and more cases of bone related problems are now directly linked to those on the negative side of the scale of happiness.
Due to demands and because of ever growing sophisticated cultures, less and less people get sufficient time to rest and recharge. That takes away a very important aspect of emotional health.
More and more people are angry and resentful today. Road rage is on the rise and it’s been reported time and again that it’s now common to see family members drawing guns on each other.
People are generally sad and depressed. This, however should not be confused with genetic or inherited traits seen in lineages of humanity.
Anger and intolerance have become the norm and many think that the happy ones aren’t just serious with life. Just as one makes a choice to be sad, one can also make a choice to laugh and to be happy.
Attending comedy shows, family fun time, visiting with friends etc can help bring a chuckle and some hearty laughter to a person determined to be happy no matter what. Story telling is another good way through which laughter can come in.
Every story has some unexpected twist or end. This can be very useful in creating humour. Even personal experiences can evoke laughter as people identify empathetically with experiences others have gone through.
In the midst of busy schedules, the family must create moments of fun where family members can laugh as they reminisce about past family events or funny occurrences.
“A cheerful heart is like medicine but a broken heart dries up the bones,” said a sage!
