Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly. – Old Scottish proverb.
‘How important is laughter?’ I ask myself.
‘Critical,’ I answer.
Laughter is a spark of reality for a tired world. It floats us above strife. Not for nothing do dentists call the stuff that lets us relax and drift off “laughing gas.” Laughter is the very stuff of true vision. It is the ragged trail of storm wrapped in the ghost of a grin spread like the lit bow in heaven over a wet and grey world. It lightens the heart with just a tilt of the lip. It is the ultimate facelift.
It is what makes me happy when I choose it.
I’ve just come across a passage in the book I am reading by Louise Penny called A World of Curiosities that talks about an artist capturing the power of happiness in her painting. It reads, “Happiness is an act of defiance. A revolutionary act.” If I were to start a revolution, I think I would start it with a grin and hope the infection spreads.
Last month, I found myself in the middle of a revolution when I read my books at the TTMAC – the Twin Triples and Multiples Club in Calgary. Seven couples attended, and with them – well – multiples of children.
Sitting quietly with their parents, they listened as I read my books Camilla Caterpillar and Ants on a Log. Because they are edible stories, I, of course, offered samples afterward. For Camilla they got humus wrapped in a lettuce leaf with a little slice of carrot for her hair. Ants on a Log involves a stick of celery stuffed with one’s favorite filling and topped with craisins, raisins or blueberries… whatever happens to be in the fridge.
Perhaps it was the humus, perhaps the idea of chowing down on a caterpillar, or perhaps just the end of story time, but that room came alive. Led by the little gang of multiple multiples (Hayley Koster’s two sets of twins), they ran, two-by-two, around the room, laughing. The energy was palpable. For that is what laughter does. It lightens the load by bringing joy to the heart. And we can always trust children to choose it.