“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones”. (Proverbs 17: 22)

Have you ever been around grumpy people? You know the ones…they aren’t happy unless complaining about something or someone else. It’s one thing to occasionally lament about a situation, but it’s entirely different to be surrounded by constant pessimism or a critical spirit. I prefer to be in the company of lighthearted individuals who can find joy in all circumstances, focus on silver linings in gray clouds, drinking from half full glasses versus seeing life as half empty. That’s why I love that God included this prescription for good health in the Old Testament Book of Proverbs–a cheerful heart is actually good for the human body.

In fact, Mayo Clinic has this information on their site regarding the benefits of laughter:

A good laugh has great short-term effects. When you start to laugh, it doesn’t just lighten your load mentally, it actually induces physical changes in your body. Laughter can:

• Stimulate many organs. Laughter enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain.
• Activate and relieve your stress response. A rollicking laugh fires up and then cools down your stress response, and it can increase and then decrease your heart rate and blood pressure. The result? A good, relaxed feeling.
• Soothe tension. Laughter can also stimulate circulation and aid muscle relaxation, both of which can help reduce some of the physical symptoms of stress.

Often, I include stories and experiences from my dad’s family to illustrate a thought or serve as an example for living life. Once again, I cannot help but reflect on my Jewell relatives for more material this week. My dad’s parents were anything but wealthy their entire lives. Don’t get me wrong, they always seemed to have their needs met–sometimes in practicality–yet always as a result of God’s care. At least, that’s how I prefer to perceive it based on grandma’s prayer life. Their lives were wrapped in hard work, challenges of raising 11 children, merely trudging along. My grandmother loved a good clean joke and she always had a hint of sparkle in her eyes. My dad and his brothers all possessed a keen ability to spin a story with just enough truth to turn it into a clever yarn. Their humor was based in gentle teasing, stretching out their stories of boyhood antics with a bit of “added details”, and pranks that really never hurt anyone other than prideful egos.

So, when a few of us Jewell families were at my grandparents’ last home on Sunday afternoons, I often took a chunk of time to sit in the living room with dad and his brothers, listening to their “tales”. I heard about Rowan tying Buddy to a tree during recess, on the side the teacher couldn’t see from the classroom. There was their favorite, convincing a neighboring family of boys–the Dunham Brothers– that walking home in the dark through farmland and meadows was dangerous. They warned them that under a moonlit sky the “Hillgougers” would attack them. To make their story credible the Jewell boys actually hid behind trees one such night, and sure enough when their friends came strolling by from town, they jumped out to scare them and bellylaughed as they watched them run all the way home!, screaming “the Hillgougers, the Hillgougers!”

I’ll admit these childhood pranks might not be everyone’s cup of tea nowadays but I’m honestly not willing to back down from the reality that no one was hurt physically. Buddy was found in time to release him from the schoolyard tree and the Dunham boys remained friends with the Jewell guys until highschool graduations took everyone on their own path for careers or further education. These guys were able to survive childhood pranks and enjoyed a lot of reminiscing about their adventures for years to come! I think that serves as a lesson not to hold grudges, build resentments, or be unwilling to accept good natured teasing.

Truth be told, I think our homes, businesses, schools, and anywhere we gather as groups of people, could use a bit more lightheartedness and laughter. Sometimes I think some of us folks are a wee bit too serious or work too hard manipulating others to feel guilty for not always being stoic.  I’m not saying we need to tie up a friend on a tree or create imaginary spooky beings to scare others. Rather, let’s cultivate moments of laughter, kindness, and looking for positive things in each person and our interactions every day. And if we were to do so? Well, we just might create a nicer gentler atmosphere around ourselves, making it possible that others will want to enjoy our company versus living in avoidance because we are acting old, crabby, settling for life in a half empty glass when I believe God wants us to enjoy abundance and blessings!

Need a place to start finding more laughter? Get around some children. Turn on a good clean comedy. Pull up comedians on FaceBook or YouTube. A few of my favorites are Jeff Allen, Nate Bargatze, Michael Jr. and Robin Williams. These guys are funny, taking everyday life and spinning it to make laughter erupt easily, all the while doing so with ease and perfect delivery! The best part? You can sit in your living room or any other place using your Smartphone to soak in a bit of laughter and joy throughout the hours of the day!