We sprang forward today.Â
Ahh, lovely Daylight Savings Time…yes, when you lose an hour of sleep, but the evenings become suddenly lighter for longer. It always makes you feel like you are springing forward faster into warmth and away from winter…into light and laughter…into cheerful colors, and fresh flavors, and mellow melodies.
And, in the quietness and stillness of yesterday and today, I somehow found myself laughing. A lot.
I laughed over Spanish Red Wine with two of my girlfriends last night when discussing recent witty remarks made by a friend, and the intense Organizing job I had for a client yesterday.
I laughed at midnight when I should have gone to bed early, and was trying to clean out my G-mail Inbox and discovered old, miscellaneous G-chats shared with friends over silly things in our college years, during my year in Kenya, and much more.
I laughed at Brunch this morning when one of the girls in my 9th grade discipleship group shared in the realm of talking about our Fears that she is afraid of the man-eating Catfish that lives in the Amazon. (Not, of course, laughing at her fear, but laughing at the uniqueness of it.) Google it – you will be scared, too.
I laughed when Lisa O. and I skyped from Kenya to MD, and some of my dorm girls’ – now Juniors – appear in the Skype screen and screams and shouts ensued of, “Hiiiii, Miss Emily!!!!”
I laughed when Britt, my roommate, and I walked up to the local Starbucks today and on the way back, she says, Chocolate Whipped Cream Frapacchino in hand, “You know, you burn a good amount of calories when you walk.”
I laughed when Britt and I were enjoying our Starbucks drinks on the front lawn, and spontaneously made a ridiculous Video for Brett, my brother, who is currently studying abroad and whose presence is very much missed.
I’m laughing. You know the saying, “Either cry, or laugh.” Or, from Proverbs 31, “She laughs at the days to come”? Well, that’s what I’m doing this spring, I suppose. Whether it’s laughing AT myself or with another person, or about something, I want to live this year laughing. Laughing at what was, what is, and what will be. It’s too short to NOT laugh.
What keeps us from laughing? And, why did God create Laughter in the first place? Is laughter a bi-product of joy, or does it specifically propel joy forward?
I think we so often focus on trying to muster up JOY, (in a very spiritual sense,) especially when facing trials that tug our Joy away from our minds, hearts, spirits. Or, we intensely strive to make sure we find Joy “in God alone,” that we forget that our God is also the Creator. The Creator of family, friends, good food, a blue sky, a hot cup of coffee, wit, chocolate, a spontaneous surprise or blessing.
JOY is the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something satisfying or keenly fulfilling. And, laughter is the good medicine we take into our souls to stir the emotion of joy.
Fear blocks laughter from having its full effect on our souls, I think. And, I’m learning – through new challenges and unknowns and worries and responsibilities – that it’s much better to use my energy to create laughter and joy, than it is for me to drain myself by weighing my mind down with fears and anxieties that I can neither control, nor solve.
And, so, I’m springing forward…laughing. Are you?