Laughter

Prov. 17:22 A cheerful heart is good medicine...


After reading a recent Reader's Digest article about the value of laughter, I decided to spend some afternoon time watching reruns of "Family Ties." That program always made me laugh. Michael J. Fox is so droll. You are probably thinking that I need more to do, but wait and read the following:

Laughter therapy has been around a few years; it came into vogue after Norman Cousins wrote his book Anatomy of an Illness in which he claimed that laughing at old movies of the Three Stooges, etc. made him feel better. He found that 10 minutes of boisterous laughter brought him 2 hours of pain-free sleep.

One researcher has called laughter our sixth sense and he found that it helps dissolve tension, stress, anxiety, irritation, anger, grief and depression. Dr. James Walsh states that laughter is equivalent to small amounts of exercise. Other researchers say that laughter boosts the immune system and releases healing endorphins. Although the research is young, results are very positive.

God knew that. Prov. 15:15 "The cheerful heart has a continual feast..." Prov. 15:13 "A happy heart makes the face cheerful...."

William James wrote, "We don't laugh because we are happy; we are happy because we laugh." He needed to incorporate more laughter into the dreary, plodding novels he wrote.

So, enjoy Family Ties with me on the Hallmark Channel Monday.