I've spent too much of my life being a serious bore! -- I said to myself some time ago. I was looking at my somber self in the mirror and was wondering what had happened to the wonderful, laughing, loving, not-a-care-in-the-world kid I used to be. I remembered when I used to be able to make everybody laugh . . . my dad, my mom, my sister and all my brothers, and even, serious stick-in-the-mud, uncle Angel -- what a name to be a stick-in-the-mud, ah?
Well, I'm not really sure what happened but it sure was fun being the family clown. Mom and Dad used to encourage me, not by telling me to be a clown but by laughing so hard that I used to think Mom was going to explode -- until one day when it was Dad, the one who literally exploded! He farted so hard in one of our laughter sessions that I swear I saw him levitate. For a moment I thought I understood that laughter episode in the Mary Popins movie when they all levitate and have tea floating up high in the room. But then it got worse. My Godfather, a silly old man with a huge beer-belly that looked as if he was about to give birth any moment, started laughing harder than I had ever seen him before. His belly started bouncing! I mean I had seen that belly go up and down before but, man! this time it was as if he had swallowed a basketball! That immense belly was going up and down higher and higher, I could not believe it! Mom was busting at the seams. And here is when my Godmother joined in. She used to be the controlled one, never laughing out loud, always holding it inside. But this time she started hissing pretty loud when she heard Dad and then, she couldn't take it any more and started snorting like a wild pig! I knew then why she never laughed out loud -- Oh boy! --I was laughing so hard that I was crying and literally rolling on the floor holding my stomach because it hurt so bad.
It sure was fun to laugh just for the joy of it. I remember my Godfather still with tears in his eyes when he walked us to the door of his old house and said, "You know, this is what life is about: good friends, good food, and good laughs. I'd rather die laughing!"
I was thinking about all this when I found myself naked in front of the mirror and made a decision to laugh more often. He's right, you know -- I'd rather die laughing too!
Too many times we spend our lives taking ourselves too seriously, not realizing how important it is to be silly and enjoy life for what it is: a joyful journey full of opportunities to laugh with friends.
Have you ever spent time looking in the mirror making faces just to see if you can crack yourself up? (I used to do this when I was a kid and I'm doing it more often now) I tell you, it doesn't take long, as soon as you realize how silly you look standing there naked all alone making faces at yourself. It's great to do this at work or in the middle of an important meeting (not the naked part). You just go to the bathroom and make faces in there. Don't worry if you get caught. You can just say that you are trying a new relaxation exercise you read about in a magazine and laugh it off!
The bottom line is that laughter is the single most effective relaxation technique known to man (and woman). It is our seriousness what makes us ill. . . creates stress and fills our bodies with all kinds of hardening materials.
Think about it. When you are serious you are trying to remain still and hold it all together when in reality this is impossible . . . you can't remain still or hold it all together. We all know by now from all the wonderful self-help literature we've been reading that what you think about expands, both in your body as well as in your world. Well then, think about what happens within your body when you take life seriously.
On the other hand think about laughter and the wonderful feeling it creates. It makes you move, it burns calories, loosens up all those clogged arteries and, bottom line, it helps you live longer and happier . . . So wouldn't you also rather die laughing?
Alfonso is founder of Business Success Institute, producers of The Wayne Dyer Experience with Dr. Wayne Dyer Live at the Tampa Convention Center. To contact Alfonso call 800-397-9244