1. Everyone loves to laugh.
2. Figuring out what makes someone else laugh helps you know and understand that person better.
Reading my old Calvin & Hobbes books last night, Erin giggled and giggled. She’s old enough to get the humor (some of it anyway) and that’s a fun new discovery.
Alex gets puns. He already understands how changing the word makes if funny.
Megan laughs at new or unexpected things. And she puts the whole force of her personality into her laughs.
Tim laughed and then demanded I read a second time one of our library books about being a boy. He thought the socks playing pirate in a laundry basket and the personified toothbrushes fighting through a bathroom jungle were hysterical.
3. Laughter releases stress. We simply cannot maintain a high level of tension or offense or frustration without hurting ourselves. Laughter helps us calm down.
4. Laughing bonds people. When you share a funny experience, it strengthens and unifies a group, even in spite of major differences.
5. Humor gives us perspective. It helps us see more clearly. When something can be explained using humor, we lower our defenses and can listen more fully than we ever will to a boring lecture approach.
So what makes you laugh?
