AMERICAN writer and philosopher Elbert Hubbard’s wise counsel -- “Don’t take life too seriously, you will never get out of it alive” -- is, perhaps, the most deliberately-neglected advice. Despite being gifted an in-built mechanism to follow the advice, humans are too inclined towards adopting the stress of living. Laughter, the intrinsic device fitted in each human body, can be a daily winner over stress, yet, the unfathomable romanticism with pressures and tensions somehow always pips it. The World Laughter Day sends another reminder to humans to connect with the reality of Elbert Hubbard’s golden words and laugh out loudly for a good living. Laughter, the essential feature of human interactions, deserves its pride of place in our life. It is a free offering, a gift from the Almighty to use abundantly. To top up the gift, human have been given the additional skill of laughing at own mistakes.

 

 

Not many are ready to acquire this skill but those who do it diligently are the happy souls who make the surroundings exceptionally beautiful. It does not need much to laugh out loud (LOL in the current lingo!) at practical situations coming in everyday life. Researchers and philosophers have found out that those who laugh their problems away find a spiritual calmness in life. It only takes a distant view, a second look to change perception of a situation. As renowned orator Dr Sanjay Upadhye narrates examples like turning a ceiling fan’s noise into a conversation as it is ‘your fan’, simple solutions to everyday situations can turn unhappiness into bliss. Like happiness, laughter, too, can be elicited with self-acceptance and mindfulness.

 

A shift towards humour rather than philosophy can make life happy and easier. Even benign violations can become a thing to laugh at as the mind accepts the inevitability behind the mistake. It can immediately wear down tensions and even forge good understanding between individuals. History is replete with examples of how people in crisis found their way out after a heart laugh at the misfortune heaped upon them by fate. During World War II, a platoon surrounded by enemy troops from all sides found strength from the words of their Commanding Officer. When told of the circumstances, he let out a hearty laugh and told his soldiers, “You are free to fire in any direction now.” Not surprisingly, they wriggled out of the situation. The key lies in finding humour in a situation, however stressful it may be. Letting out a guffaw can easily dissipate the surrounding strain and unclog the brain so that a positive outcome can be thought of. Laugh, and laugh out really loud, for, life is also a serious comedy! n