What does being joyful, happy, or full of laughter mean?
I want to start with the generic question: are you happy, and is joy within your reach? Do some people consciously opt out of being happy or joyous? If happiness and joy were a choice, would we all embrace it?
What is joy, and how different is it from happiness?
What is it going to take for you to be happy?
Granted, as humans, our happiness or joy can be associated with a good feeling, person, success, good fortune, acquisitions, or the fulfillment of desires or dreams.
How do we cope regardless of life’s adversities, challenges, disappointments, heartaches, sorrows, grievances, losses, or afflictions? This is where Joy is more profound. It is an inner strength, resilience, and a drive to keep pushing on. With joy, a person can outwardly present a smiling face or serenity regardless of difficult circumstances such as a terminal diagnosis, bankruptcy, a wrenching heartbreak etc. Hence, happiness can be an effusive display of joy within the heart, soul, or spirit, although inwardly, it feels like one’s world is crumbling.
So whether we are experiencing great happiness because of someone, something, an event, circumstance, achievement, or hopeful anticipation of a better outcome, or we burst out in laughter to show we are happy or think something is funny. It is safe to say that joy, happiness, and laughter are connected and can be considered family members.
A joyful or happy heart says the Bible is good medicine – PROVERBS 17:22. Realistically, are we cheerful or happy? Do we laugh enough to express these happy emotions? Again, are we getting the medicinal benefits of these incredibly inexpensive, intrinsic, and ubiquitously natural phenomena?
Sadly, sometimes joy, happiness, and laughter can become elusive in a world plagued with sorrow, disappointing hurts, pain, mischief, deception, fabrication, injustice, unfairness, etc.,
So, if happiness is medicine, and laughter signifies happiness, would you not agree that we should actively seek opportunities and interactions with people, occasions, events, or ceremonies that will bring us laughter? If laughter is free and not sold in the store, why does it seem like there is a cap on laughter? Or that only the privileged few are fortunate enough to have monopolized this internally self-generated commodity? So, this is what I think, you, as an individual, owe it to yourself to be joyful, happy, or laugh some more.
Let me recommend that the next time your face is gloomy because of a piece of unsavory news, treatment, rejection, or unpleasant attitude, take a look in the mirror, and also when you laugh, why don’t you look in the mirror again and consider the two faces? Now, with the gloomy face and the one full of laughter, which one looks better to you? Hopefully, you have determined that your face looks much better with laughter than without it. We must associate ourselves with events, celebrations, people, and all activities that make us laugh. As for me, I resolve today that as long as it is up to me, I choose to disassociate myself from circumstances, events, associations, and actions that chronically limit laughter, happiness, or joy.
Biblically, we know there is a time and season for everything or activity in human lives (Ecclesiastes 3). Hence, though there is a time to weep and mourn, contrasting it with a time to laugh and dance is a perfect balance.
Internally, what happens if laughter is absent or limited in our lives? Although joy manifests superficially through smiles, cheerfulness, or when there is laughter. Yet its physical manifestation has a mental, emotional, and spiritual association with our holistic wellness as humans. Embracing joy means putting away sorrow, heartbreak, and disappointment to welcome laughter or happiness. It signifies the end of weeping and gives way to celebrating pleasurable or contentment-inducing circumstances. Scientifically, we know “feel-good hormones.” like endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin, are released in abundance when we laugh to show we are delighted, contented, or joyful. Thus, at this point, and with this choice, the devastating effects of stress have no place in our lives.
(Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them. Psalm 126:5-6 NIV)
Psalm 30:5b weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.
Sometimes when you are not laughing, it isn’t necessarily because you are too busy working. Yet, perhaps it’s because life circumstances have pelted you with hailstones, or you have received unpleasant news, diagnoses, suffered a loss, etc., depositing in your heart pain, affliction, or suffering. Understand that you have several options here. You can either wallow in self-pity, cry your eyes out, give up, etc. These are justifiable reactions. David, the Israelites, Hannah, and Martha all wept; surprisingly, Jesus too wept, and so did a countless number of others too. Our hearts hurt when we lack joy based on our situations, our emotions are awry, and we become sick with sorrow at a more spiritual level.
Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 42:5NIV
Nonetheless, if you are wondering if you will ever be happy again, or have reason to laugh again, then I have good news for you; Jesus’s anointing is to bring us good news. Sarah needed to laugh again. The widow of Nain had an opportunity to be happy again. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the good news and heal the broken-hearted.” Luke 4:18 NIV
Whoever you are and wherever you at, if you feel the weight of the brokenness of the heart, I pray for a release of the oil of gladness unto your soul!!!
The question for you is what makes you laugh, who makes you laugh, and with whom do you laugh?
If I had to choose, I would prefer to go with those who bring laughter or know how to join me in laughing. However, we do not always get to choose the people who surround us, but God can grant the oil of gladness upon us so that instead of the gloominess that sometimes surrounds our human existence, we will be agents and instruments of joy.
If you do not know them and are wondering who is your laughter buddy, then we got a problem that needs fixing. It would be best if you fished them out. We share common interests with our laughter buddies, and these are the people who celebrate us. They do not show up only when there is good news; yet through the tough seasons of life, our laughter buddies are willing to go through thick and thin with us.
Engaging in laughing therapy exercises is a great idea and much fun if you have company. As a mother of a toddler, I have a tradition with my kids called “laughing therapy,” here, our goal is to promote a free flow of laughter. Usually, it isn’t necessarily because somebody has cracked a joke or we are watching anything comical. However, like a race athlete, the cue is – on your marks, set, ready, go, and a bang; right then, the laughing therapy starts. Trust me, the posture and the gestures that my little one puts up are enough to get us all cracking into laughter. Can you imagine how much healing has occurred even if we laughed only for five minutes?
This will be a good time to find a laughing buddy. A friend, colleague, child, etc will do. For those of you married couples, look no further because your spouse can be your laughter buddy.
As far as location goes, the bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, car works. Whether you are involved in a serious or mundane activity, both of you can find a reason to pause laugh or talk about secret things that is it’s just between the two of you.
and love you can give yourselves affectionate names that are unique to both of you and that can bring laughter to you find the moments of laughter yourself if we are told to take a minute to smell the roses that I’m telling you to take a minute to laugh weather be made to love or whether self-made laughter would produce results regardless of how it was initiated.
The World Health Happiness Report, based on a three-year average (2019-2021) ranking of happiness), statistically captures how people rate their lives in different countries. The report’s ranking details information carried forward from one year to the next with a Statistical Appendix that outlines individual country trajectories. According to the 2022 report, Finland has dominated the World Health Happiness Report and stayed at the highest-ranking spot for five consecutive years. Denmark retained its second-place position, and Iceland went up from last year’s 4th place to 3rd place this year. Switzerland is 4th, the Netherlands 5th, and Luxembourg 6th. Surprisingly big shots like Germany placed 14th, Canada 15th, and the United States placed 16th, considerably better than last year’s 19th position. The United Kingdom ranked 17th, with France holding 20th place.
May God grant you a million reasons to be joyful, full of happiness, and laughter regardless of your story. Whether by stupefaction or a flabbergasting stupor, may God cause your onlookers to join you in laughter or gasp with their mouths wide open! Like Sarah, learn to take a moment and laugh regardless, knowing that God’s got you! Genesis 21:5 reads, “Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. And Sarah declared, “God has brought me laughter. All who hear about this will laugh with me. 7 Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!”
