Laughter is the Best Medicine

     Isn't it funny how people say that? "Laughter is the best medicine!" Humour is a very human thing and it's a very personal thing. What can be funny to one individual can be a very distasteful subject to another. Seeing Ardal O'Hanlon on stage in Devon back in the 90s was a refreshing experience for me. Whilst so many standup comedians punctuated their entire routines with the coarsest language you could imagine, Ardal O'Hanlon was entertaining theatres full of people with a totally clean act. It just proved that you didn't need to swear in order to engage and shock people with your humour.

     We're also the product of our parents. We attach some importance to the shared bond of a common sense of humour. If we have a fond memory of a funny event or comedic experience then we're likely to gravitate towards that kind of humour. It's why we remember our parents making jokes that made us groan and we subsequently find ourselves making similar jokes that make the next generation shrink away in embarrassment. Don't worry. Their time will come. 

     I am a victim of the Carry On film era. I still love them and they still make me laugh out loud but, I guess, it's primarily because of the memory of sitting with my family and laughing together. The jokes are not really that good but they still raise a satisfying giggle from deep within me. It was a reality shock when I loaned a copy of Carry On Screaming to a friend and she handed it back a week later, puzzled, and told me that she just didn't get it.

     

     We might question why laughter is medicine at all. By association, the things that make us laugh are things that we like. We like them because they make us feel good. I have a great affection for and attachment to animals. Although they aren't human and can't possibly relate to me on that level, I feel a bond and do the typically human thing of imposing human characteristics on them. I was in the field with the horses recently and Billy, a lovely 18 year old gent, yawned and whinnied in such a way that I started laughing uncontrollably. He humoured me to the extent that he seemed to join in on a very connected level. I'm not sure what, exactly, but something passed between us and it made me laugh. More than that. It made me feel great!

     It's got more to do with the fact that Billy is an animal that I care about that made the episode funnier for me. A similar experience was when I played the concertina recently in Kerry where I have a beautiful partner and an attentive dog companion called Timo. As I played and sang, Timo related in the only way he knew how. He came and sat at a safe distance under the kitchen table and howled along, quite content and undisturbed. In fact, he was so on task that he continued to wail along for a good few minutes after I stopped. His howling made me laugh so much that I was literally crying with laughter by the end. Mrusia, the cat who used to own a fisherman, came and sat at my feet purring! I don't know why she finds the sound of the concertina so reassuring. Maybe her previous human, Pa, played too. The whole comical scene tickled my funny bone so much that it brings a smile to my face even now.

     These things, however, make me feel great. And anything that makes me feel great is good medicine for my body, my mind and therefore by default my soul. It's the same as playing music, meeting friends or walking in nature. The things we enjoy and the things that uplift us are the things we should seek out and do more of.

     Humour and comedy are particularly powerful because they are also so often communal acts. How many times do you watch a funny film or read a funny passage and feel compelled to share it with someone? It's the whole basis on which Facebook exists! Enjoying it in isolation is just not the same. Sharing it is like an outpouring of energy that helps to create the positive vibration. This is an aura that will pervade every level of your life.

     Now that the science surrounding the Laws of Attraction is becoming more common knowledge it should come as no surprise that if we frame our daily experiences with joy and laughter then we'll attract much more of that into our lives. It'll not only help us feel good about our lives but will also help us deal with the ups and downs in a more balanced way.

     The late and great Bill Hicks was a master at imparting this message whilst combining it with his own insightful philosophy on life. I think his message is quite clear. Don't take things too seriously. Love one another. Live in peace and have a laugh.

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