Bursting Smile

There are so many things in this world that bring us down and take a toll. The daily grind makes us worn out and serious. You turn on the news and you're given a triple dose of serious. Our jobs are serious. Deadlines are serious. Housework is serious. There is too much serious. Seriousness is seriously sucking the fun out of life.

I suggest we take a step back and really observe whats happening. Here in America we are one majorly stress out and serious people. Our lives are being swallowed up by our own inability to have fun. We refuse to left go and enjoy life. There are things that can not wait but most of the time they can keep. No one ever came to the end of their life regretting they had been more serious. No, they regret the times they didn't spend enjoying a sunset, a sunrise, an ice cream cone in the park, playing hookey so you could see your favorite band, reading a good book, having an all day Everybody Loves Raymond marathon while eating Chinese food, having a good belly busting laugh where you can't catch your breathe or simply relaxing in a chair drinking coffee/tea enjoying a rare moment of silence.

We need to laugh. We need to find the reasons in our day that will make us smile. The day is full of serious, look for the things that make you smile. There is something everyday that will make you smile or laugh. Guaranteed. Once you've found that one thing or several things hold on to them. Replay them in your head. It's amazing how we feel when we focus on the good.

Abraham Lincoln once said, "If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will." That is so true. We can also apply it to our day. If we go in expecting to find the bad we'll find it ten-fold. So let's search for the good in our day. God didn't create us to be serious people. He tells us in Proverbs 17:22, "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." Laughter is the best medicine, the Bible tells me so. Joy and laughter fill our spirit with endorphins. (Don't know how scientifically accurate that is but for illustration sake let's say it does.) You get pumped up and you can't help but love life. 

There is an instant charge that goes through your body when you laugh. When you erase the seriousness and allow the joy to settle in your soul. Look for the laughter in your day to day. You may find it's easier than you think. 

"The most wasted of all days is that in which we have not laughed." -Nicolas Chamfort