By Elizabeth Farina
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There is currently a commercial about a man who smiles all the time, so says the voiceover of the child. It’s not the product, which doesn’t even register with the mind, but the simple message that joy is contagious no matter the circumstances. Have we the skill or even the patience to show that type of genuine joy anymore?

It’s not an easy task to hold a laugh that is not overflowing with the sharp cynicism in today’s world. First, it’s extremely difficult to maintain true joy when bombarded by the anger and harsh comedy heard from entertainment outlets, media, and even face-to-face interactions with people who are suffering from the same blahs that have swallowed whole personalities. The shouting matches, dire news, and flat jokes have had a dulling affect on the seventh human sense: our humor.

A dear friend sent me an e-mail of two similar presentations about the current state of the housing industry. One was filled with the monotonous drumming heard before a firing squad completes an execution. The other, with the same message, was delivered using smart editorial cartoons that allowed one to giggle a little at the absurdity currently facing the industry. It was not making fun of those who lost livelihoods. It was not dismissing the crisis that we have been weathering over the past 18 months or more. It was allowing a critical life-saving moment similar to swimming – the sucking in of air to bursting lungs before the head submerses again into the depths of the water. It’s as necessary to genuinely laugh as it is to breathe.

Now, does that mean we cackle at every single thing? No. Laughter is not about nervous giggles at serious moments (such as my father’s funeral when someone cracked it was appropriate that his eyes were closed in church before we closed the casket. Knowing my dad, he would not have felt disrespected, but would have nervously giggled with us too).

Genuine laughter is something different.

We have to become conscious of why we are in a foul mood. Just because the weather has turned cold, doesn’t mean our joy has to become stone cold too. Maybe we have become too tied up in personal expectations of desired outcomes that are not in our control. If we do our best each day contributing every fiber of what we are capable of with a solid confidence and, yet, the result is not what we have envisioned – we need to say “good game” and stop kicking the dog (I highly recommend the autobiography of Coach John Wooden if you’re not sure how to improve life’s game or at least have a different perspective).

True laughter lightens the weight of worry. True laughter is contagious. True laughter is good medicine that brightens a soul’s darkest day. True, belly-rolling laughter among friends and family is a tie that lovingly binds rather than the current mean-streak observed that crumbles so many hearts. It’s not about being soft, it’s about being human. It’s about time we start realizing that we need to laugh.

PS – Thank you to the two kind strangers in the check-out line at Sam’s Club on Friday. Your kindness and genuine smiles truly kicked off a good day.