Make Em Laugh

Soon I'll post my thoughts about Daniel Pink's book that I just finished this morning. There are many excellent and thought provoking ideas in the book, but none struck me more than his section about "Play" which includes the usefulness of video games, the right-brained nature of humor, the need for promoting joyfulness in the world, and the therapeutic value of laughter. It is this last item, laughter, on which I am currently focused.

Laughter is generally thought to not belong in the adult world of serious business. I say bu11sh1t. So does Pink. He makes a strong case of the value for adults to engage in laughter. In particular, he talks about the laughter clubs. Of course there aren't any where I live...so maybe I should start one. You probably think I'm kidding, but don't be so sure.

The first Sunday in May is World Laughter Day. To my knowledge this is not celebrated in the area where I live (Twin Ports, WI & MN). That's very sad and maybe there's a chance that we'll have something to laugh about in May 2007. Colorado College is one place where an event was hosted on the last World Laughter Day. They participated in a series of laughing exercises, what is commonly called "laughter yoga." Here's a quote from a laugh leader at that event: "The purpose of the exercise is 3-fold. First, to increase oxygenation; second, to improve their mood; and third, to improve social interaction," Dr. Tomi-Ann Roberts, CC psychology professor and “laughter leader” said. You can also see a short video news report at the link above.

My guess is that 90% of the people (adults, that is) think that this is totally whack. I guess I'm glad to be in the 10% who think this is a perfectly reasonable and healthy thing to do.

Photo courtesy of Tom@HK through Creative Commons licensing.