Go ahead - laugh at me

Some days, I think I am absolutely hysterical. I say something that I think is funny, and fall over laughing at what I’ve just said.

My husband thinks it’s absolutely adorable when I do that, and he ends up laughing - not at my comment, usually, but rather at the fact that I’m laughing so hard at what’s just come out of my own mouth.

What has started to happen now is that I’ll be with other people - colleagues, friends, etc. - and say something I think is funny, laugh at it, and inevitably they’ll start to laugh, too.

Do you know why?

Maybe sometimes they laugh because they want to be nice, sure. I’m betting, though, that there’s another reason: laughter is contagious. Hearing someone laugh instinctively makes us want to laugh, as well, or at the very least makes us curious about what was so darn funny.

When I was younger, people laughing at me felt terrible. I instantly became insecure about my actions or behaviors, and most definitely felt picked on. That’s because many times young people use laughter as a mechanism for hurting others (though in reality they’re most likely using it to mask their own feelings of inferiority or insecurity…that’s another post).

As I got older, I realized the value of laughter as a kind of medicine, as a tool for relaxation, and as a way to connect with my students. If my classes and I don’t laugh together at least once or twice a block, I haven’t succeeded with the lesson. It shows them I have a sense of humor.

More importantly, though, it shows them I’m human.

It shows them that I understand that sometimes, we need to just stop what we’re doing and find a reason to laugh.

And it helps them understand that life isn’t all “hard work”. I think we grossly undervalue the importance of laughter in school, in the workplace, and…maybe just in life in general.

To that end, I’ll leave you with an original joke (at least I think it’s original) that I came up with while walking through Machu Picchu last year and watching the llamas eat the grass around the Incan site.

Ahem.

What do you call a cow that cuts your grass?
A lawn moooo-er.

Go ahead, you can laugh. I already am.