Writing Through Cancer

It’s been gray and rainy since I arrived in Toronto on Thursday for a week-long visit with my granddaughter.  I’ve hardly noticed, because I’ve been smiling since she first greeted me with a toddler-sized hug and an excited “Gramma!” as I came through the door of her parents’ apartment.  We’ve raced push carts up and down the hallway, danced wildly around the living room to a Sesame Street song, and lay on the floor giggling together.  Whatever aches and complaints I had before I arrived have vanished.  And our obvious enjoyment of one another even caused a gentleman on the street to stop and smile at us as my daughter, granddaughter and I giggled our way along Bathurst Street.  “You made my day,” he said, laughing.  “Grandmother, mother and granddaughter.”

When you’re smilin’
When you’re smilin’
The whole world smiles with you.
And when you’re laughin’
When you’re laughin’
The sun comes shinin’ through….
When you’re smiling,
Keep on smilin’
And the whole world smiles with you.

Who would have imagined that “When You’re Smilin’, first recorded by Louis Armstrong in 1929, would later be supported by some scientific facts about laughter? It turns out that laughter has several health benefits. Think of Norman Cousins’ experience, described in his book, The Anatomy of An Illness.  He used laughter to successfully combat the pain of a deadly disease.   Or consider the work of Patch Adams, the physician who made humor a key aspect of his patient care.  Here are just a few of the things laughter can do for us:

• It helps us breathe easier;
• It provides a good workout for the heart and other vital organs.
• Laughter reduces the level of stress hormones and may increase the release of disease fighting cells in the immune system.
• A positive outlook guards against illness and increases longevity.
• Laughter connects us to others:  it’s good for positive social relationships.
• Laughter brings the focus away from negative emotions.  We “see” the world differently when we laugh; it helps our perspective of things.
• It’s a great physical and emotional release.

“The human race has only one really effective weapon”, Mark Twain wrote, “and that’s laughter.  The moment it arises, all our hardnesses yield, all our irritations and resentments slip away, and a sunny spirit takes their place.”

“I am thankful for laughter,” Woody Allen said, “except when milk comes out of my nose”.

Well, I’m grateful for the laughter I’ve been sharing with Flora and her parents these past few days.  I know I’ll be returning home to San Diego later this week feeling a lot brighter than I did when I left, and the fun and laughter I’m experiencing in the company of my little Flora is a big part of the reason.  I just wish I could bottle up her infectious two-year-old humor and take it home with me…on those days that the world is too much with me, a few giggles with my granddaughter would go a long way to alleviate any stresses or tension.

This week, try a little laughter to brighten up your life, re-frame the way you’re feeling, or find the humor in what might otherwise seem insurmountable. Why not write about one of those funny family stories that bring a chuckle whenever it’s told?  Write about something silly, amusing, or even embarrassing that makes you smile when you think about it.  Or, like I’m doing, sit in the company of children, who can find humor in the smallest things, and let yourself be carried into their giggles.  Laugh a little.  It’s good for you.