Feeling Broken?
Try the Healing Power of Laughter
Introduction
Are you feeling broken? Is someone you love feeling broken? How do we heal? I believe laughing can bring healing. Thank you for joining me on this Adventure of Reflection of the healing power of laughter.
A Minute of Motivation
A Little Crazy
You have to be a little crazy to stay sane.
Some people take their lives far too seriously and, consequently, have very little fun. To be “grown-up” means, to some, that joking and being goofy are childish.
But life is really very funny! You need to find humor in daily events in order to prevent becoming too serious. This means learning to laugh at yourself as well. We all make dumb mistakes – laugh at them, learn from them, let go of them, and go on.
A friend once tried to get me to “lighten up” – so I worked very hard at being less serious. It didn’t work. Ironically, I had to work less seriously at being less serious. I am learning and hope you do too, that:
Life is too important to be taken too seriously. Be a little crazy sometimes.
Note. I published this in 1992 from a collection of inspirational messages I wrote for my freshman psychology students.
Enjoy Life More
The Healing Power of Laughter
I have had several sorrow-filled conversations with broken colleagues this week. All have been experiencing a serious version of workplace burnout or toxicity. Some are working from home in an effort to cope. Several are counting the years until retirement, hoping to struggle through until then.
The number and intensity of these encounters has compelled me to ponder two things. First, what brought them to me? Second, where can healing be found?
The first answer may be related to my laugh. Though feeling broken myself lately, I strive to find reasons to laugh. I have often been told, over the years, when at large gatherings, “I knew you were here because I heard you laugh.” And, from those who knew my mother, “you laugh like your mom.” Perhaps people are drawn to me because they need to laugh, and, by laughing, they will find healing.
Are you feeling broken? Find someone or something funny. Laughter may not fix what is broken, but it can help heal the brokenness inside. Let’s laugh more!
Faith Corner
“Sarah said, ‘God brought me laughter.’” (Genesis 21:6)
There is very little laughter recorded in the Bible, and, what is there, is often not a healthy version of laughter or it’s the laughter of fools. There are three noteworthy exceptions. In Proverbs the wise woman, who has adequately worked and prepared, can “laugh at the days to come.” In the Ecclesiastic wisdom of Solomon, he records there is “a time to weep, and a time to laugh.”
But, way back in Genesis, the first book of the Bible, there is a record of Sarah laughing. Initially she laughs when God tells her she will have a child in her old age. Then, after it happens, she names the child Isaac, which means “he laughs” and she attributes this gift of laughter to God.
This laughter, brought by an impossible child, is a joy-infused laughter. That version of laughter is a gift from God, and a gift we can share with each other.
Dear Lord, thank You for the gift of laughter and the joy it brings. Help me to receive laughter from You and share it joyfully with anyone You bring into my path. Amen.
Poetry Pause
Too Broken
The world feels broken – too broken?
My job feels broken – too broken?
Our country feels broken – too broken?
My future feels broken – too broken?
I am broken – too broken?
Can any of this be fixed?
Or is only partial restoration possible?
How does restoration happen?
O, Great Physician, heal us!
And, if brokenness cannot be mended,
Send comfort and courage.
And laughter.
By Cindy MacGregor, March 22, 2021
Note. I wrote this poem at work, one year after the great shut-down. I added the last line today because of the healing power we can bring to each other through laughing together.
Old Mom to Young Mom
Laugh With A Child
Unburdened by the adult cares of the world, children are so free to play and to laugh. One of the many reasons I enjoy being with my grandsons is being able to enter into that world with them. During a recent visit, one of my grandsons asked a “fortune teller” at a children’s Halloween carnival, “what will I be when I grow up?” The “fortune teller” (who is a local comedian) answered somberly, “Unemployed.” We all laughed – then he did, too.
The next day, my grandson realized he could get us to laugh again by saying, “Unemployed.” So he did. Again. And Again. It was hilarious!
That same grandson, a bearer of so much wonderful joy and energy, changed his mind about his costume for Halloween. After his costume arrived in the mail, he no longer wanted to be a pirate; he wanted to be a nurse instead. In a crazy, funny, compromise, he agreed to be a “pirate nurse.” I laugh every time I think about it!
Ways to laugh with a child, or like a child, are to read funny books or watch funny movies. I suggest you watch “Secondhand Lions.” I have enjoyed it countless times. It really is THAT funny.
Do you have a child-sized comedian in your world? If so, cherish the hilarity of laughing with them.
Dear Dr. Mac
If you would like to hear what I think about something, please send an email to: drcjmacgregor@outlook.com; I will respond via email or in this section of a future newsletter, or both. I hope to hear from you!