Are We Having Fun Yet? Laughter is a Gift [life]

This idea has always been one of my core values. Basically if you are one of my really good friends, you and I are going to laugh—a lot. And if we don’t know each other, our laughter will connect us. One of the nicest material gifts ever given to me was a bumper sticker that reads: SHE WHO LAUGHS, LASTS.

As it turns out, the research shows that not only is laughter therapeutic, but laughing can be a path to intimacy. Do a Google search on the role of humor in relationships. You will see that lots of people are thinking and writing about this issue. It is preoccupying us, maybe because our world seems to be facing so many serious issues. I am not talking about laughing at a funny TV sitcom (are there any left?). I am talking about that pre-verbal connection that we make with another human being that brings us in sync with each other. It takes us outside of our heads and into our bodies for a rare magical non-judgmental moment.

If you are a parent, you know your child’s laughter is one of the most irresistible sounds around.


Are we having fun yet?
This is the sometimes cynical, sometimes sad question my husband and I ask each other when things are a little strained. It usually means—we are not!

Want to Share Laughter?
Michael Bungay Stanier, has come up with 8 principles for bringing fun into your life that I think really work and I want to share them with you:

1. Stop hiding who you really are
2. Start being intensely selfish
3. Stop following the rules
4. Start scaring yourself
5. Stop taking it all so damn seriously
6. Start getting rid of the crap
7. Stop being busy
8. Start something

Curious about how these will add fun and lead to more irresistible laughter and intimacy in your life? Watch his video, The Eight Irresistible Principles of Fun. Then go find your home videos of your child (or yourself) laughing at age 2 and keep playing them over and over.