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A Giggle a Day
By Vickey Pahnke-Taylor
Toilet paper stuck on the bottom of
a shoe. Your favorite cartoon. Getting a joke at the same time your
friend does. A prim-and-proper person almost falls, then
looks around to see who might have seen him. That movie you have
already seen six times, and laugh every time you watch it —sometimes
even laughing before the best scene, because you know
it's coming. Those bloopers on signs and in bulletins. A fading
memory of the time (whatever memory still brings a grin or a giggle,
even though it happened a long time ago.)
Isn't it great to laugh? It is a blessing
to feel a joyful giggle sneak out of our mouths, or a full blown,
explosive laugh at an appropriate time. Spending time with people
who have a sense of humor is always enjoyable. Snickering together
with friends and family creates good memories. Our care must be
to simply ensure that the snickers and giggles are positive, good
ones. Ones that do not tear down or degrade. Ones that lift and
make our day!
There is an old saying that goes, “An
apple a day keeps the doctor away.” It sounds like a good trade-off,
doesn't it?
We might add this little adage as a
means of making our days a little better, “A giggle a day keeps
the doldrums away.”
“Doldrums” is a word meaning sadness,
with a range from "melancholy" (just a bit of sad) to
"despair" (a lot of sad — and with little hope).
Regardless, it translates into thievery: stealing from us the blessing
of a sunny, happy day filled with faith and joy. It is amazing to
me how we can fill the holes of sadness with a bit of good, old-fashioned
giggling.
Just for fun, try this experiment today:
Come up with some lame joke —
one that may not even be very funny. Sharing it will get varying
reactions from the people with whom you communicate it, but it will
become more funny to you as you continue to share (some
may say, “annoy”) this joke.
I remember an older gentleman sharing
a “joke” with me one time, as I was standing in line at the grocery
store. I can remember nothing of the joke. I do remember that
it was not particularly funny. But he was a darling little old man,
with a sunny disposition, and the desire to add a little of it to
those around him. The wait in line seemed less lengthy, and the
snap in my step was a bit snappier as I left the store, shaking
my head and smiling as I pictured the whole scene in my mind. I
have never seen him again, but I doubt I will forget the simple
lesson he taught about sharing a bit of happiness.
Years ago, for some strange and inane
reason, I determined to create a file of original cow jokes.
Don't ask me why; there is no reason I've ever been able to come
up with. But I have had a blast sharing these jokes with my children.
The less funny the joke to them, the more it tickles my funny bone.
At first, the feeling was, “Mom is
being creative. Let's indulge her.” As time went on, the consensus
seemed to be closer to, “Mom is really bored and really strange.”
Then came the, “Mom, please take pity on us and keep your cow jokes
to yourself.” Next was, “Oh no — not another cow joke.”
Finally, after several years of such
foolishness, it became ? in some strange way —endearing to
my children that Mom had this log of jokes that are not necessarily
funny, but worth a giggle or two. Maybe it is simply because I laugh
each time I tell one. The laughter rubs off on them! Amazingly,
one of the kids will occasionally ask me to tell a cow joke, or
will work to come up with one of their own. In any case, a silly
thing has now become another bonding thing in our
family, and can bring a good giggle from time to time.
I will spare you an example of my creativity.
But I will challenge you to place in your mind a fun little story
or joke, or the memory of something — or someone — who
makes you laugh. If you are having a difficult day, this can be
harder to do. Nevertheless, your day will be a better one if you
hang on to a bit of humor.
In
the book of Genesis, we learn about the prophet Abraham and his
wife, Sarah. They had wanted children for a long time. A very long
time. Finally, when Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 years
of age, the Lord blessed them and Sarah conceived. I was intrigued
when realized that both of them had the same reaction to the news
of an impending child coming to them: They laughed! (Check
it out in the 17 th and 21 st chapters of Genesis.)
Reading the cross reference section
at the bottom of the page in the Bible, I learned that the root
word for "to laugh" has another meaning: "to rejoice."
Thus, there is much more to the meaning of the word
And there is more meaning for us, as
we treasure the moments we have to rejoice, by participating in
the kind of joyful mirth that is good for the soul. A quiet, whisper
of a giggle or the happy, “yippee!” kind of moments when the laughter
rolls out of us like a giant smiley face. What a simple, delightful
way to feel sunshine within.
Elder Neal A. Maxwell had this to say
about humor:
A true believer is serious about
the living of his life, but he is of good cheer. His humor is
the humor of hope, and his mirth is the mirth of modesty, not
the hollow laughter or the cutting cleverness of despair. Unlike
those of a celebrated devil-may-care lifestyle, his is the quiet
heaven-does-care attitude. ( True Believers in Christ [ sound
recording ], BYU Sound Services, 1980.)
Good humor seems to help us balance
the small annoyances with a better, sunnier perspective so that
neither our circumstances nor our own selves seem so serious or
overwhelming. The Savior will help fine tune this characteristic
as it is sincerely applied on a daily basis.
A giggle a day can be a good thing!
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