Monday, July 9, 2012

Day 187, July 9

"Something special happens when people laugh together over something genuinely funny, and not hurtful to anyone.  It's like a magic rain that showers down feelings of comfort, safety, and belonging to a group."--Mary Jane Belfie

It is no secret that I love to laugh.  At life's abusrdities, at myself.   Laughter, shared with friends and family, is healing.  Laughter used as a weapon is not.  It shames me to admit that I have laughed at another's misfortune, at another's embarrassment.  Why I did that, I'm not sure.  Perhaps it was in relief that the cause of the laughter did not happen to me.  Perhaps it was because I have a nasty streak that too often rears its ugly head.

I am working on curbing this pernicious habit, working on developing a softer heart, a more compassionate soul.  In this, as in so many other things, I remain a work in progress.

This I know for sure:  laughter can heal; it can also hurt.  How we use it is, in large part, a measure of the people we are.

1 comment:

  1. I think that when I laugh that way, it's my own judgmental nature coming out. Perhaps I see someone's "just desserts" handed out to them without my having to say a thing. Of course, my laughter speaks much louder than my words ever could.

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