Laughter: The "Wonder Drug"

I was reading a comment from another blogger Sunny and she made a comment along the lines of: Humor was her kind of anti-depressant. Whoa, that's some pretty profound shit right there!

And I couldn't agree more...some of my Bud's that are also in recovery and I have always talked about the value of laughter in our recovery and it is so true. Life itself is hard enough and when you are trying to cope with other difficult things going on in your life it can be overwhelming. I truly see laughter as a gift...

Certainly humor and laughter will not make the troubles go away, nope...yet there is something comforting about the act of letting yourself go. I've been guilty many times (the last couple of days are a good example!) of taking things far too seriously and not giving myself a break.

I'm not saying we just laugh stuff off and don't deal with it, not at all. I'm just know when I let myself see the humor in life and once once again here's that word again: Balance sets in and I feel more settled in my own skin. And feeling comfortable in my own skin is critical and honestly, it's a foreign feeling for me. But when I am feeling good with who I am, I am much more likely to do the things I need to do when it comes to dealing with the shitty curveball life sometimes throws at me (and at all of us)...

When I am feeling good and balanced I am also more likely to seek the spiritual comfort that has always been missing from my day to day life.

I realize when I post my thoughts like this, it can seem complex, like Thom is thinking about this waaay too much. Honestly, it does not feel like that to me at all. I guess having to explain it makes it seem tedious and perhaps hard to comprehend yet it has come quite naturally for me if I keep an open mind and just as importantly: an open heart.

When my children were little, we used to goof around a lot. And laugh a great deal. I often would "become" the Tickle Monster (both kids were VERY ticklish) and chase them around, catching and tickling them as they squealed with laughter. Often in the last days of my using, when life was painful, things looked bleak and I was so lonely and afraid...I would close my eyes and I could see them and hear their laughter in my mind. I think those memories helped carry me through those terrible times.

And today, when I am stressed out and feeling far outside my comfort zone, I'll do the same thing. I'll close my eyes and I can hear them and that NEVER fails to bring a smile to my face...and a warmth to my heart. It is then that I am in a good place to meditate/pray and let go....