The Challenge of Laughter.

So, last night I was jumping with my little sister on the trampoline and she was laughing the entire time. She has one of those really cute, addictive laughs. I couldn’t help but laugh along with her. Holding hands, jumping and giggling the afternoon away as we watched the sun slowly set. Her laugh was so innocent, untouched by the reality of our world, it was genuine. It made me think about the plasticness (I’m pretty sure I just made that word up) of people’s laughs. It’s hard to find a laugh that’s real, like my siste'rs. A laugh that, as us South Africans say, comes from the pit of one’s stomach and bubbles up through your throat.

Often we just laugh because we think we have to or to make ourselves or others feel good. But that moment when someone laughs and you can hear it is genuine and rippling through their body is absolutely magical. More joy is brought in one genuine body shaking laugh than in a days worth of loud plastic laughs.

Another wonderful thing about laughter is the uniqueness of every one. I mean, my Mum has a very loud cackling laugh that you can hear from a mile away, my Oupa had a Santa laugh (he literally went ‘ho, ho, ho!’), my older sister has a more subdued shake but when she really finds something hysterical, it tends to resemble my Mum’s… I have that laugh that, and I quote, ‘If you don’t quieten down, you’ll break the windows!’ My Ouma has a very cheeky laugh that resides in the back of her mouth that makes a sort of ‘tch, tch, tch’ sound. My Dad’s is just very loud, full and frequent. All of these laughs are different, crazy but bring joy to my heart whenever I hear them.

The whole revelation on the tramp made me think. When I laugh, is it genuine? Do I only really laugh for certain people? At certain times? Am I like a migrating duck, constantly flying, the same with everyone? Or like a butterfly (I had to use them somehow but hate using them in a negative context) resting every once in a while? What about you?

Over and out :D

 

Oh, and a very Merry Christmas to my trusty follower!!!