Humourist Paul Lowney said "Laughter has no foreign accent."
I recall being with some Polish friends, listening to them cajole in their own language. Though I didn't understand what they were saying, I found myself smiling along. When one of them asked if why I was laughing, and whether I understood what they were saying, I simply commented, "No, but you laugh the same in Polish." To which he laughed even harder.
Humour is a beautiful thing, and it does sound the same, no matter what language we speak. It breaks down the walls that divide us and brings us together. It builds empathy and understanding. It is also one of the most amazing and enriching aspects of being human.
There is a lot that we do not know about laughter, but preliminary research is demonstrating that it has tremendous health benefits. It reduces stress, causes the release of positive endorphins, promotes healing and it is good for our hearts. Even a smile has a positive impact.
Having worked in several cultures through the years, I have noticed different attitudes toward smiling and laughter. I tend to be a very happy person, always looking for something to laugh about. Living in the west, I am told from time to time that I need to be more sensitive of the feelings of others and to stop fooling around.
When I was living in Africa, however, I did not find this social standard to be as prevalent.
While working at a home for street children with young people who literally had nothing but the clothes they were wearing when they came to us, I found that I when I greeted a child, I could say, "Seka," meaning "smile" or "laugh" in Lingala and I would get the most beautiful grin in return. It created a positive connection between us and it fit with the social context in which we were living. Maybe the children realized that having food to eat, a roof over their heads and people who cared about them was reason enough to smile.
As humans, of course, we are meant to feel a full gamut of emotions. There is a time to feel upset and we are just beginning to understand how to deal with negative emotions as well. The musical genre of the blues is all about sadness. What is fascinating, however, is that playing the blues makes us feel better. There is something powerful about mindfully embracing the bad things that happen in life. We realize that we are stronger than they are and, though they may contain valuable lessons for us, the sun also rises.
Holocaust survivor and psychologist Vikor Frankl tells us, "I never would have made it if I could not have laughed. It lifted me momentarily out of this horrible situation, just enough to make it livable." Indeed, Frankl's classic Man's Search For Meaning is rife with stories of concentration camp inmates laughing about topics that others may find morose. They would joke about how after surviving on watery soup, they would eat at banquets years after their release, and still ask the server bring them soup "from the bottom (of the pot)." Even the realization that the train that was carrying them from one camp to another was leaving them at a work camp and not at a death camp drew smiles and cheers from inmates.
Laughter connects us as people. British musician Elvis Costello once asked, "What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?" But maybe that is the key. Humour could well be the path to developing care and compassion for our neighbours and building a more peaceful and joyful world.
For more of Gerry's columns, go to www.gerrychidiac.com.
