Just for Giggles

I have a bizarre sense of humor. I know this is true as even I find some of the things I am amused by very strange. Strange or not, I often find myself tickled by something that was said, what someone has done, just the oddities of life seem to entertain me.

I love to people watch. I don't have lots of time these days to go sit at the mall and watch people walk by, but when I do I am always tickled. Sometimes it's what people are wearing, sometimes it's by the body language, sometimes it's by the relationship they are working out as they walk. One day while people watching at the mall, I was tickled by one of these events when I realized someone was watching me. From across the courtyard I could see a man looking at me being amused by something and getting amused himself sort of like the ripple effect. That amused me even more.

Sometimes in the midst of an argument or moment of drama, I find the need to giggle overwhelming. I sometimes make impassioned speeches when the mood takes me and even in the midst of them, I say something that makes me chuckle. And even when I am counseling with someone over something very heavy and sad, I have to at times bite back a comment to lighten the mood.

Humor is a God given gift and there is nothing better for mental health than laughter. There is something very healing in having your mood lifted and the sense of joy that usually accompanies a good giggle. I am grateful that I am easily amused and when no one else is there to crack me up, I can usually crack myself up, I know that is a gift.

Like any gift, humor needs to be disciplined to be fully appreciated. It can be a useful tool for stress relief and for pure enjoyment, but it should not be used to avoid dealing with difficult things or to keep others at arms length. I can see I have blurred those lines at times. I have not always been willing to endure the pain that is part of whole life at times. This is not healthy and robs others of the chance to walk through that with me. I don't really regret being goofy, just would like to be more deliberate in my goofiness.

While I work all that out, you ought to look around you and giggle a little more. Life is funnier than you have been appreciating. A little chuckle goes a long way and is tons better than an angry outburst. If you haven't laughed today, you ought to do so. Life truly is funnier than you think .