My Life In Laughter: Laugh Even When You're Sad

 Life isn’t always fair or fun.  It can be full of fear, sadness, and unknowns.  We often mess up, are imperfect and make poor decisions.  Lately, I’ve felt like there are so many bad things all around me - bad things affecting strangers, my friends, and my family.  Sometimes, it’s easy to be so focused on the bad, that we begin to expect it.  I even verbalized this to a friend, “all this bad stuff is happening all around me, and it’s just a matter of time ‘til it happens to me.”  I sometimes almost feel guilty (rather than grateful) when bad things aren’t happening to me. 
 
I was right in the middle of this spiral of sadness and expectation of disaster when I got a text from my cousin, Darra.  A few months ago, I'd ask her to send me the next funny thing that happened to her and I'd include it in an installment of 'My Life In Laughter.'  These are posts that include audio recordings of me telling a funny story and laughing at myself.  I recorded a few gems including Cozy Shirt, Gold Saturn, Drive Through Judgment and A Cat Litter Incident.  I did this, not because I think I'm so hilarious, but because I truly believe in the power of laughter - especially when we can laugh at ourselves!  I knew I'd soon run out of funny material, and that Darra was a great storyteller that had funny stuff happen to her all the time (she was actually on Candid Camera once!)

Well, she came through at exactly the right time!  She made me laugh so hard listening to her tell this story of travelling alone to her grandmothers’ funeral.  Doesn’t sound very funny, does it?  But it just showed me that God gave us laughter even in the midst of sadness.  And to get a little deep and metaphorical – the title of her recording “Travelling Solo” – made me think how we really aren’t alone, and giving ourselves permission to laugh – especially when we share it with others – is good therapy to get through dark times.  When we are sad, scared, angry and our lives feel chaotic, maybe a little laughter shared with those around us can bring us a joy.  Take a listen to Darra’s ability to laugh, even in one of the saddest times.  Don’t feel bad laughing with her – it helps us all to heal!