Have you ever noticed that fits of uncontrollable laughter become less common as we age? I was thinking about that recently, and it kinda doesn’t make sense. Laughing is fun, it’s good for you mentally and physically, and it makes people around you smile. So, what gives?
I suppose that when we’re kids, we are less inhibited, less stressed, and basically don’t have the capacity to actually give a shit that we are spending time lost in a hilarious moment. Laughing for five minutes straight so that your sides and belly hurt and you can barely speak or even breathe is just a thing that happens. And, the younger we are, the better! Babies just laugh for no reason, and they can’t even communicate why they’re laughing. That is absolutely fabulous.
But, as we get older, we care more about what other people think, we wonder if we’re doing the “right” thing or the socially acceptable thing. And I think that’s a load of horse shit. We should all strive, within reason, to be as uninhibited as children when it comes to laughter. We should embrace those moments of silly humor and child-like innocence. We should allow ourselves to let go of the shit storm that is being an adult. It’s five minutes, a single moment of our lives, yet we willingly surrender all of our time and energy to our stress and worry and anxiety.
We claim that we don’t have a choice, because we have all these responsibilities and “important” things to attend to. But, what is more important than taking care of yourself – your mind, your body – and actually living your life? What if we all made a conscious decision to be more open to silly things, even just once in a while, and allowed ourselves to actually laugh like that again?
I’ve had two laughing fits in the past couple of months, and just writing about them now makes me smile and giggle to myself. It was because of this ridiculous idea that a guy at work had, and then something that came up in conversation with Tom that reminded me of it. Both times, it was – liberating. And the fact that it brings a pure, unabashed grin to my face now even though I’m dealing with some really retarded shit makes me believe more than ever that laughing fits are actually important to wellbeing.
Something to think about.
Have a good night. And – laugh a little.😊
A Peculiar Cerebral Tangle 