Life can be difficult, but it can also make us laugh. I was reminded of this while playing the Game of LIFE with two of my grandkids. What started as something small escalated into hilarious laughter and more silliness.

As I was laughing at them I remembered articles I’d written on laughing. Statistics I’d come across regarding laughter. How children tend to laugh more than adults. How laughing can improve our lives.

It made me thankful I’d chosen to join in and milk the laughter instead of trying to get them to settle down and get back to the game like a stuffy adult.

We never did go back to playing the game. We moved on to create our own American Ninja Warrior obstacle course.

Life can make us laugh if we’ll let it.

SIMPLE SILLINESS

It was simple silliness that got us laughing so hard. I have a version of the game with Action Cards that tell you to do silly things. Things like:

• Rock competition, play the air guitar
• Win a TV talent show, do a tap dance
• Run a marathon, show off your warm-up moves

Imagine this.

The three of us were sitting at the table playing the game when my granddaughter drew the card Dress like a comic book hero! Pick an opponent. Both name your superpower and spin.

Simple enough.

She chose her brother.

But, instead of simply naming their superpower and spinning the game spinner—they got up to act it out.

They both chose flying as their superpower and began leaping in the air to simulate flying and falling on the ground.

Leaping with their arms outstretched and flying some more and laughing.

Jumping and leaping and flying some more—and falling on the ground.

Again and again.

This turned into laying on the floor squirming back and forth “flying” and cracking up.

So simple. So funny. So refreshing.

Silly fun is hilarious.

DOING DUMB THINGS

After this happened I revisited an article I wrote about how laughing is more than fun. In it, I have a story of something dumb I did and how I had learned to laugh at myself.

We all do dumb things. We don’t all laugh at ourselves.

I’m so glad I’ve learned to laugh at myself. It’s freeing.

For example, when I took my mother-in-law to her doctor appointment—in the wrong building. I couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t find the doctor’s office. Duh! I was in the wrong building! I laughed so hard as we left to go to the correct building.

Another example is a story we’ve told numerous times in our family. The day I had my daughter. It was Christmas day and I was in labor at the hospital. My mother and mother-in-law were together playing cards with a turkey in the oven. A few hours went by and they wondered why they weren’t smelling the turkey yet—they never turned the oven on. Hilarious laughter. They ate the turkey a little later than planned but loved telling the story.

Life will provide plenty of opportunities for us to laugh at ourselves.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Life can get real serious at times. Responsibilities and pressures in life can weigh us down. Laughing lifts that weight.

Laughing empowers us. Laughing is good for us. Not just our soul but our body too.

We need to embrace every opportunity to laugh that life gives us.

WHAT NEXT

• When was the last time you had a good laugh?
• When was the last time you laughed at yourself? Share a story in the comments.
• If you have trouble laughing at yourself read this.

If you’d like to get the version of LIFE I have, I found it only here. (not an affiliate link)

If you’d like to see what version’s Amazon has click here. (affiliate link)

Danielle Bernock

Author, Coach, and Speaker helping men, women, and organizations EMERGE with clear vision of their value, TAKE ownership of their choices, and CHART a path to their promise, becoming Victorious Souls who Embrace The Change from survive to thrive through the power of the love of God

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