"We must do the best we can with laughter..."

The late President John F. Kennedy was once quoted as saying:  "There are three things in life that are real:  God, human folly, and laughter.  The first two are beyond comprehension, so we must do the best was can with the third."

A phychologist once posed the question:  are we happy because we laugh or do we laugh because we're happy?  These chicken or the egg conundrums make my head hurt.

But, I do know this.  Today was a rainy Monday.  Coming off an extended weekend, by taking off last Friday, I felt the Monday morning blahs even more than normal.  My first meeting was at 10am and all attendees seemed slugglish, too.  We slogged through the meeting.  Things seemed to flow in slow motion.

Enroute back to my office, I ran into some colleagues on my floor.   We talked about the NFL league championship games.  After a few good, hearty laughs, I began to feel better.  A few more unplanned interactions with colleagues generated more laughs.  Before I knew it, I was back at my desk but happier and out of my doldrums.  That good feeling stayed with me throughout the day. 

I once read children, on average, laugh many times more often during the day than adults.  Perhaps the children have it figured out and we adults just forgot how to laugh somewhere along the way.  Maybe we all need to take stock and learn to laugh again and often.

Some of the happiest people I know laugh alot and often at their self.  Some of these happy folks just seem to start laughing to themselves when they remember a funny moment or thought. 

Our Lord created laughter.  I believe He created it to help us.  Perhaps it is the natural refreshment for the soul.   Readers Digest used to have a page entitled "Laugher is the Best Medicine".

We should ask ourselves: how often have I laughed today?   Feeling the blahs?  Ensure that you have at least two hearty laughs before resuming your activities.  Then, gauge your mood.  I bet you'll find yourself happier.