"Give me a sense of humor Lord,
Give me grace to see a joke,
To get some happiness from life,
And pass it on to the other folk."
One of the best things you can do to your heart is enjoy a hearty laugh. Laughing not only lifts your spirits, but also promotes good health as well. You do not need a brain surgeon to know laughing makes you feel good. When you laugh, you exercise your lungs, heart and diaphragm. It is also a terrific way to reduce stress, which can help lower blood pressure.
After all, when someone with a heart condition becomes upset sitting in a traffic jam, it builds tension and makes the heart work more. If you can laugh, or play with a toy or try your hand at a crossword puzzle by which you can distract yourself from getting tied up in knots about something you cannot do anything about, do it.
Izzy Gesell suggests keeping a humor diary, writing down every time you laugh, and what generated the response. Write down the things which are funny while watching the TV. Share it with your husband or wife. You will soon discover that humor is all round you.
It is not only jokes that bring a smile to people's faces. Pay attention to the small things in life that make you smile. As adults, we are not trained to honor humor, so we let these moments escape. Set your mental channel to look for humor in your life. Write down the things that make you laugh or smile and pass them along to others.
Gesell believes in positive humor, not negative humor which separates people. He urges his clients to be playful and to learn to laugh at themselves. Gently acknowledging our own flaws and foibles is the best way to begin expanding our sense of humor. Learn to take your life seriously, but yourself lightly. Here are a few suggestions: Whenever you need the benefits of humor, stop what you are doing and smile. Try to think of a joke or observation appropriate for the situation and tell it to yourself. Make a collection of ten things that bring you pleasure, and keep a list with you. Put together a personal humor maintenance outfit. Keep them in the car if you get stuck in a traffic jam, or in your drawer at work. Conduct a pleasure hunt. Go through your drawers, photo albums and closets. Get reacquainted with the wonderful.things you have tucked away. Put some in your humor maintenance outfit.
