Gratitude ~ Laughter

Greetings Dear Reader,

Yesterday I shared my usual Friday breakfast with my boon companion and dear friend Jeff.  Our providential meeting occurred a few years ago when we were cube neighbors.  We became friends through conversation and shared consternation.  Amidst all of that, however, was also laughter.

The laughter at our meal yesterday was rich and prolonged.  We caught up on our progress in the journey.  We shared war stories concerning the less adept at navigating the path.  Mostly, though, we laughed at a world that so often has so much to teach us.

I say we laughed because neither of us takes things too seriously.  Perhaps that is not accurate.  We are both always serious but we are seldom somber.  We take humor seriously.  We savor the moments when both the tragedy and joy of life erupt in serious laughter.  The laughter is either to avoid tragic tears or because the world unfolds in ways that are joyous and humorous.

I wonder how often we really get what Job or the writer of Psalms mean when they speak of God filling us with laughter.  That joy is the laughter for which I am thankful.  I see it in the opportunity to help others.  I find it in the time shared with my Children and Grand Children.  I relish it when I get the women at the bakery to break into song with me over Sweet Caroline or YMCA. 

There is a way to make the lives of others better through laughter.  I do not mean stand up comedy, although I value that too.  I am talking about those moments when the heart sheds its burdens for a space over an incident of shared joy.  I am so grateful that when we have sorrow we also have laughter to remember and to anticipate.

I hear God in that laughter and it is so very real.  It is healing and encouraging.  I wish you so much of it that your sides ache.  How about you Dear Reader; do you have tales of real laughter to share?

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”