Laughing Out Loud

It seems like every time I am chatting on Facebook or Blackberry messenger with my best friend, his every other comment is LOL.  Let’s face it we all overuse this acronym.  Finally the other day I just asked him, if I really bored him that much?  Or is he seriously “laughing out loud” at my every comment.  He responded that sometimes he uses it because he can’t think of anything else to say and he knows I am going to keep talking or telling a story, so it’s his way of encouraging me to keep going, but most of the time, he really is laughing out loud.  He enjoys laughing and believes it’s the best medicine for anything.  Point taken, because this is a guy that allows stress roll like water off a duck’s back.

I was reading an article the other day about Julia Roberts and her signature laugh.  It’s a money maker.  Just about every movie she does, the directors and writers pen a scene where those pearly whites are gleaming and that long flowing red hair is tossing and that hearty beautiful laugh makes the moment.  It really got me to thinking about my life and how laughter can lift tense and traumatic situations.  Think about your friends and family, isn’t there someone you know who is laughing all the time and just really brings your mood up right when you need it?

Back in my school days I can remember two girls who laughed constantly.  They had that Julia Roberts kind of beauty and infectious nature as well.  Carrie Dempsey and Stacye Bramlett attended Roy Webb and Pleasant Valley with me, so we were very close growing up.  Stacye had this machine gun kind of laugh and it didn’t matter what you said, it cracked her up and she could get everyone around her laughing with that sound.  I think the teachers were always calling her out for being loud, but it sure did lighten up the day.  Carrie and I are still close friends today and she has one of those spirited laughs that will make you feel like you are riding around in a convertible.  I can close my eyes and just hear it and it makes me smile.  Humor is one of those sensations that will help a person get through hard times.  Laughter is contagious and it primes the brain to produce serotonin, the chemical that makes you naturally feel good.  My cousin, Diane Kiser has suffered so much tragedy in her life.  She lost her little brother when we were only 15 and then both her parents before she was barely 30 years old.  Sometimes I know she becomes overwhelmed emotionally, yet she can also be one of the happiest people in the world.  Her laugh is so authentic and uplifting, she can have a room full of people rolling around holding their stomach with her wit and humor.  She told me once that she laughs to keep from crying.

God intends for his children to live happily and in abundant joy rather than sadness and despair.  Of course we all face tribulation in this life, but when we concentrate on the promise of salvation and eternity in Heaven we can overcome life’s burdens.  We each differ in our reactions to situations.  We all have strengths and weaknesses and that makes life interesting.  In my personal journey to find victory over these chemical imbalances and mood cycles, I am discovering just how complex the body and mind can be.  Who can question that God is the creator of all when you think of the natural abilities we have within ourselves.  Our immune systems can be strengthened by laughter, love, friendship, etc. as documented in the American Medical Journal. 

Each of us should reach out and encourage, comfort and love our friends more and more.  It edifies and strengthens our bodies and minds.  How much clearer does He need to be when He tells us to “love thy neighbor more than ourselves?”  I think I am going to try and use the acronym LOL a little more in my daily communication and put it into physical action just as much as written.  God bless us all.