How do you laugh?
Do you
stifle your laughs to be polite or not draw attention to yourself?
Do you suffer from a nervous laugh, or does your laughter
overtake the room?
Laughter is a natural response, unique to humans, that restores and
enlivens our energy field. Good
laughter can dissolve tension, stimulate the flow of endorphins for a "feel
good" response and help us gain another perspective in difficult
situations.
I once had a boss who was a self-made millionaire with humble
beginnings. He recalled an incident
in his early days of how laughter got him through one of his darkest moments.
His financial record was shaky back then, his bill payments often late,
and he counted on his line of credit to cover payroll each week.
At one time, because of his poor payment record, the bank manager
informed him that he would have to have his payment for the loan installment by
Friday at 5 PM, in person, with cash in hand, or his account would be frozen.
Payroll would not be met.
The business John hoped to collect on that week did not
materialize. He had over-extended
all of his other resources. It was
Friday noon and he had a few hours to go before impending disaster.
In desperation he looked around and found himself wondering about
the numerous jars of loose change he had around his apartment.
He disliked carrying change in his pocket and habitually emptied it into
jars. The jars
remained neglected, the coins never once having
being sorted, counted, or wrapped.
The jars had piled up. Now John found himself rapidly counting and
rolling coins into paper wrappers; he filled two large paper grocery bags with
his stash.
It
was 4:45 PM when he ran through the door of the bank, his arms aching with the
weight of the coins.
The bank manager was waiting anxiously, arms crossed, toes tapping with
impatience, and disapproval on his face.
John
flashed a smile, said, "I made it",
and set the bags on the counter.
At
that moment the strength in his arms gave out and the bags landed with a crash,
splitting down the side as they hit the counter.
The force of the crash weakened the paper wrappers and hundreds of
dollars in coins rolled all over the bank floor on both sides of the counter.
There was a brief pause,
silence,
held breath, and then - deep belly laughs from the clerk, the customers and,
finally, the bank manager himself. Then everyone pitched in to scoop up the coins, the tellers
volunteering to help re-roll them.
They went for coffee afterward and John got to know his bank
manager as a person who genuinely wanted to help him.
John not only received the financial advice he needed but formed a
business liaison that would serve him well. He would never look back.
The bank manager eventually became his head of finance.
Laughter is a basic life need and like all other life needs that are not
met, can actually block our energy and lower our coherence when we stifle a
laugh, laugh nervously or in contrived ways.
By being in phase with our natural sense of laughter - to be able to
laugh at our selves, laugh out loud, laugh spontaneously... we release tension,
feel better about ourselves and gain perspective. Our energy is lifted.
Our action intention this summer is to have fun and a few good laughs.
Have a great summer!