June 2008Page 1 Of 1  


Some Things in Excess: Laughter and Health

Posted On 2008-06-30 , 1:58 PM

I was thinking recently about laughter and health and its enduring place in our lives.  Years ago, when I was taking one of my college classes at UCLA, one of my professors told us that he had a saying:  "Everything in moderation, but some things in excess."  I believe it was a call to get the most out of your life, to indulge now and again.  But I think, with our jobs, marriages, families, responsibilities, we can hardly go "hog-wild" whenever we feel like it!
What can I do that some may see as excessive, but which I know will be good for me or my health, because I really love it and it's not illegal?  I listened to the sound of my laughter as thought, "I can't go on a drinking binge, or eat everything in sight, or spend $500 for a pair of shoes, or jump out of a perfectly good airplane, like my paratrooper dad did during WWII (well, I guess I could, but I'm chicken that way)."

No, I'm thinking about the kind of things that will make me feel glorious and exuberant, and might inspire gales of laughter and even be great for my health.  Let's see:  I could see a live musical play with my family like "A Chorus Line"  or "Wicked".  How about a night ride to the high desert to see the meteor shower that planet earth passes through every year around this time?  What about a live performance by a current stand-up comedienne, likeCathy Griffin, or Rita Rudner?  Now that's something that could produce laughter and benefit my health at the same time! 

I have to say that a couple of weeks ago, I was giving a massage to one of my clients, who could not lie down on my table, so he was sitting facing the back of his chair in front of the TV.  His health was not that great, but I was soon treated to the sound of his boisterous laughter.  His son had turned on a comedy concert of Cathy Griffin performing live,  taped for Bravo.  I'd forgotten how outrageous Cathy can be, but I also noticed how uninhibited and fearless she is, too, because she dares to say things that most people can only think about.  My client's son now could hear hearty laughter coming from both of us, and he smiled to see his dad acting as if he were in the peak of health.  In addition, there were moments I was actually screaming!  I had a blast, and it was one of the easiest massages I've ever given.

In a recent TV Guide, Italian screen legend and bombshell, Sophia Loren was interviewed about her career and her effect on men. (I remember watching "Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow" as a little girl.  Sophia's character was crying because she was so in love with Marcello Mastroianni's character, that she was trying to do all she could to please him.  As it was a comedy, I remember my sister and I holding our stomachs and heaving with laughter at the side-splitting hilarity of the situation onscreen,  and I think now, what could have been better for our health?) Anyway, TV Guide's last question was in reference to an old, classic photo of Sophia sitting next to that other bombshell, Jayne Mansfield, looking at her chest as Jayne leaned forward onto the table, in a low-cut dress.  When asked what she was thinking at the time,  Sophia answered:  "I was very much afraid her breast was going to come out completely! [Laughs] It was fear!"  Upon reading her reply, I threw my head back,  and with continuous whoops of delighted laughter, I felt glorious and exuberant and knew that, right then, nothing could be better for my health!

 




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