Who Says It's No Laughing Matter?

I recently received a mailing about a workshop entitled "Taking laughter seriously: the healing and cathartic benefits of laughter therapy.  The mailing cited some research findings which demonstrate that laughter contributes to good health.  It also quoted Will Rogers, who once quipped: "We are all here for a spell. Get all the good laughs you can." 

From a clinical standpoint, people who state that they have totally lost their ability to laugh at themselves, others or their circumstances usually present the most severe immediate distress.  People who claim to be without laughter generally report chronic feelings of dissatisfaction, and unrewarding relations.

It remains a mystery as to whether laughter is the best medicine, but certainly "it couldn't hurt."

If laughter is a "potent" force in maintaining emotional health, then it seems probable that it is most needed during serious times and difficult situations.  If ever there is a time to soothe or temper ones nerves, it is during serious and difficult times.  Being able to laugh about some quirk of the human condition, be it death, disability, flawed character or even sinister (malevolent) behavior, allows people the opportunity to better understand and tolerate these problems without having to be victimized. 

Woody Allen, the actor/screenwriter, is noted for confronting the "human condition" while simultaneously challenging us to laugh at the absurd. He is consumed with the meaning of life, death, sexual relations, infidelity, science and religion. At the same time, he seems to be more amused by misfortune and tragedy than defeated by their unavoidable presence. As Allen tells it: "Today I saw a red-and-yellow sunset and thought -- how insignificant I am!  Of course, I thought that yesterday, too, and it rained."

Next time a serious situation is at hand, and you think that no one should be laughing or saying something ironic or absurd, ask yourself: does the situation become any less important or serious because of some healthy laughter.  If someone finds something to laugh about while talking about worship, cancer or divorce, does that negate the importance of these events?  Does laughing at something necessarily demonstrate irreverence or disrespect? 

Consider the possibility that laughter is simply a mechanism for allowing one to better understand and appreciate the importance of seemingly unfathomable or unconscionable life circumstances.  Perhaps laughter is the best medicine, for people who are infected with the "human condition," yet bent to survive it.