I learned how to use humour as a weapon in high school under the guise that if you kept people laughing, then they wouldn’t punch you as much. This can also be the rational behind keeping people from getting intimate with you. Laughing also masks a need http://wp.me/p1utPe-rA be vulnerable.

But laughing also breaks down masks. Laughing makes us comfortable. laughing is almost its own language. I once laughed a whole night away sitting in a jungle village in Thailand with an older grandmother who spoke no English. We shared a rats tail, and a love of food and somehow constantly found ourselves giggling with each other.

Laughter can be a natural overflow of joy. I laugh at how things are said, not even what is said. I will snort at just how the rhythm of words sound. I laugh at faces because they are so beautiful, I laugh at perfect timing and the ridiculous love that the God of our creation showers on us. I giggle at other people giggling and also people’s emotional response to the simplest of things.

I have learned that while laughter can be a weapon, it can also be wide open arms that gather the hurting in for comfort and rest. Laughing can turn into crying, but it does something separate to crying.

Laughter IS the best medicine. Especially laughter from the best doctor.

Be joyful.