I had to laugh. After reading a blog a friend of mine sent to me, I had to laugh. I am not a blogger. But I have this friend who is an active blogger. I understand that is an important part of what is called “social media.” And I know she and others think I ought to be more involved in things like this. But I can only handle so much technology!
Basically the blog she sent me is a little article. So had it appeared in print somewhere, I would have been happy to grab it and read it. The title of the blog is “Laugh Harder, Do Better.” The author, Ross Smith, offers a compelling case for laughing through your day. Smith wonders whether “that laughter is a serious success metric for a healthy, creative, and innovative organization?” He implies it could be. I find this interesting since I have done some writing on innovation. Could it be that healthy, innovative organizations are those who find a way to add---or at least, allow---laughter in the workplace? I think the answer is “yes.”
Ross Smith also suggests a link between laughter and happy people. Of course, I am not so naïve as to believe laughing drives all one’s problem away. There are studies that suggest that laughter does give people more energy and probably makes them less prone to sickness. But clearly, a laugh a day will not prevent cancer. And certainly, no matter how much I laugh each day, some day I will die. Laughter does not prevent death!
However, if laughter can increase my chances of being healthy and happy, I give it some attention. Smith quotes Dr. Michael Titze, a German psychologist who is a humor therapist (now that makes me laugh!) I did not know there were humor therapists! Apparently according to Dr. Titze “in the 1950s people used to laugh 18 minutes a day, but today we laugh not more than 6 minutes a day, despite the huge rise in the standard of living.” Two things hit me when I read this. I don’t know how Titze finds the means to come up with these figures. And secondly, I have no clue how many minutes a day I laugh. But I fear I am much closer to 6 minutes than 18 minutes.
All this connects because I know there is a high correlation between how engaged I feel at work and whether I have a friend there. And if I am able to add laughter to the equation, then a good workplace is a place where I have some friends and some real chance there will be laughter.
So far, so good, you might be thinking. But what does this have to do with the spiritual? Everything, I would respond, because it has to do with being fully human which, for me, means being fully alive. And for me, this could be a basic definition of being spiritual, namely, that I am fully human and fully alive. Of course, that is pretty general. We can add specifics to what it means being fully human.
All I know is that I spend too many days not being fully human. I am not fully human when I don’t get proper rest and when I don’t eat well. I am not fully human when I am grumpy and am whinny about the things and, especially, the people in my life. I am not fully human when God is not giving me all I want. After all, what good is a God who does not give us what we want!
So maybe laughter is not the best medicine, but it is a very good medicine. And I think laughter can be quite spiritual. Laughter engages and connects me to someone or to a situation. Of course, this can get tricky. Clearly, there are those forms of and occasions for bad or sick humor. Who has not laughed inappropriately at things we should not have found funny?
My own experience suggests that laughter is an important part of a spiritual community. And my experience also suggests that too often spirituality is assumed to be always serious. And serious spirituality should have no place for humor or laughs. HA to that, I say!
I will admit there is a strong strand in Christian history that distrusts or, even, is against humor and laughter. This stand of history is suspicious of any spiritual person laughing and having fun. Again, HA to this, I say. So what do I say, then?
I say, I had to laugh. I believe what Ross Smith tells me. I am even going to aim for the 18 minutes a day that Dr. Titze tells me folks managed in the 1950s. I know laughter happens more predictably and easier for me when I am with people. So I want to make sure I am around people enough to give me a laugh.
I am going to look for mentors. We all know there are some people who just seem to find laughter easy to do. They are usually laughing and make others laugh, too. They usually look like they are having fun. And that makes them seem happier. And if I can help my own community move more fully into that direction, that would be something. This is a good day to begin. That’s no joke!
Basically the blog she sent me is a little article. So had it appeared in print somewhere, I would have been happy to grab it and read it. The title of the blog is “Laugh Harder, Do Better.” The author, Ross Smith, offers a compelling case for laughing through your day. Smith wonders whether “that laughter is a serious success metric for a healthy, creative, and innovative organization?” He implies it could be. I find this interesting since I have done some writing on innovation. Could it be that healthy, innovative organizations are those who find a way to add---or at least, allow---laughter in the workplace? I think the answer is “yes.”
Ross Smith also suggests a link between laughter and happy people. Of course, I am not so naïve as to believe laughing drives all one’s problem away. There are studies that suggest that laughter does give people more energy and probably makes them less prone to sickness. But clearly, a laugh a day will not prevent cancer. And certainly, no matter how much I laugh each day, some day I will die. Laughter does not prevent death!
However, if laughter can increase my chances of being healthy and happy, I give it some attention. Smith quotes Dr. Michael Titze, a German psychologist who is a humor therapist (now that makes me laugh!) I did not know there were humor therapists! Apparently according to Dr. Titze “in the 1950s people used to laugh 18 minutes a day, but today we laugh not more than 6 minutes a day, despite the huge rise in the standard of living.” Two things hit me when I read this. I don’t know how Titze finds the means to come up with these figures. And secondly, I have no clue how many minutes a day I laugh. But I fear I am much closer to 6 minutes than 18 minutes.
All this connects because I know there is a high correlation between how engaged I feel at work and whether I have a friend there. And if I am able to add laughter to the equation, then a good workplace is a place where I have some friends and some real chance there will be laughter.
So far, so good, you might be thinking. But what does this have to do with the spiritual? Everything, I would respond, because it has to do with being fully human which, for me, means being fully alive. And for me, this could be a basic definition of being spiritual, namely, that I am fully human and fully alive. Of course, that is pretty general. We can add specifics to what it means being fully human.
All I know is that I spend too many days not being fully human. I am not fully human when I don’t get proper rest and when I don’t eat well. I am not fully human when I am grumpy and am whinny about the things and, especially, the people in my life. I am not fully human when God is not giving me all I want. After all, what good is a God who does not give us what we want!
So maybe laughter is not the best medicine, but it is a very good medicine. And I think laughter can be quite spiritual. Laughter engages and connects me to someone or to a situation. Of course, this can get tricky. Clearly, there are those forms of and occasions for bad or sick humor. Who has not laughed inappropriately at things we should not have found funny?
My own experience suggests that laughter is an important part of a spiritual community. And my experience also suggests that too often spirituality is assumed to be always serious. And serious spirituality should have no place for humor or laughs. HA to that, I say!
I will admit there is a strong strand in Christian history that distrusts or, even, is against humor and laughter. This stand of history is suspicious of any spiritual person laughing and having fun. Again, HA to this, I say. So what do I say, then?
I say, I had to laugh. I believe what Ross Smith tells me. I am even going to aim for the 18 minutes a day that Dr. Titze tells me folks managed in the 1950s. I know laughter happens more predictably and easier for me when I am with people. So I want to make sure I am around people enough to give me a laugh.
I am going to look for mentors. We all know there are some people who just seem to find laughter easy to do. They are usually laughing and make others laugh, too. They usually look like they are having fun. And that makes them seem happier. And if I can help my own community move more fully into that direction, that would be something. This is a good day to begin. That’s no joke!
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