You might be thinking, "That sounds fun and all, but how are you going to do it?" To which I'd have to reply, "I have absolutely no idea, but in this endeavor I'm insured success!" After all, success is closely tied to happiness, and laughing and making others laugh makes me happy.
When I think about my life, I don't dwell on the not-so-good times. Armed with my mental clicker, I search for memories filled with good times I've had with family, friends, and even the silly, lighthearted exchanges I've had with perfect strangers. I remember nice comments, smiles, and laughs far longer than I remember the guy who flipped me off at the traffic light. Gee wiz, you'd think he'd let a girl go first. I mean, who really cares if I had to cross over 3 lanes to do it.
Incorporating humor into our lives isn't really that difficult, but I'll admit, there's this 2-second adjustment period before I can pull humor from myself instead of meeting someone with the same hostility they show me. I was at Target today when a woman flashed me one of those looks. Wow! She really didn't like me. My heart raced, my lips tightened, and my stomach flip-flopped, but just for a brief second. Slowly, I looked back up, lifted my hands up to my head, put my thumbs in my ears, and wiggled my fingers at her. She busted a gut! Then she smiled from ear-to-ear, put her hand on my shoulder, and said thank you. "I was having the most god-awful day," she said. "You just made my year!"
Life has a way of creating moments from which we can choose humor, kindness, and an it's okay kinda attitude rather than a negative one. That woman in Target thanked me, but in all reality, her reaction made my day. Had I allowed myself to lose control, we might have gone to war in the kitty litter isle. Fortunately, that 2-second pause was all it took to bring two women together in sisterhood.
As psychologist and philosopher William James said, "We don't laugh because we're happy, we're happy because we laugh."
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