Proverbs 17:22 in the NIV, says, 22 A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
One of the most healing things Melinda and I have discovered since we are both over 65 now is that we might as well enjoy the ride. We have found laughter to be such a good medicine for our souls and have found one of the healing agents to be bonding and intimacy in ways far beyond the physical. We can, and often do, laugh at ourselves and our situations. Our kids and grandkids are learning to do the same things - not at our expense - but WITH us. I believe this will help them deal with our eventual old age and with our deaths. Several of the children feel so comfortable talking with us about such things that we have had this question asked several times now. “When you are at the end of life, what kind of home do you want to be placed in?” Melinda and I both declare adamantly that we want to grow old and die at home, to which our children always respond, “You didn’t answer my question. What kind of home do you want to be placed in?” Even in our laughter, through such a heavy conversation, we feel very loved.
The Hebrew word found in Proverbs 17:22 for ‘cheerful’ literally means ‘joyful, merry, glad, gleeful’, and is often translated as the word ‘laughter’.
One of my sons, who live near us one the property we have given him, has made it his life’s mission to scare me, and my life’s mission, in turn, is to scare him. He has my permission to film my response in any given moment. More often than not, we wind up laughing more than screaming. Just this morning, he sneaked into the house as I prepared to take some meds in the kitchen and just stood there silently waiting for me to realize he was there watching me. Luckily, I sensed his presence before we got to the hysteria phase.
A couple of weeks ago, I heard him go outside of the barn/workshop and he heard me preparing to leave as well. I decided I would scare him - without thinking he might be trying to do the same to me! I opened the door just in time to see him sliding down into the back seat of my car. My plan had been to sneak up behind him as he got into his car, so I went up to the car window and knocked on it to let him know he would have to try again. Only last year he had hidden in the cargo area of my Kia Sportage and had jumped out as I was pulling down our lengthy driveway. After the appropriate man-scream I began to laugh my tail off. I don’t know why I love this, but I do. I think it is because I feel so secure in who and in Whose I am and that I thrive on the endorphins released in my brain and laughter really does work like a medicine for my soul. The Hebrew word for medicine is literally ‘a cure, a healing’. Laughter can be a healing agent.
In Proverbs 17::22, the word ‘Spirit’ literally means ‘wind, breath, mind, spirit’. We are born with an innate sense - and I believe - need for laughter, deep down in our core identity. Laughing tends to help me gather my breath anew and helps clear my mind of all the clutter that just doesn’t matter.
‘Broken’ literally means ‘broken, stricken, wounded’.
We will all experience times of brokenness. times of wounding, and times of feeling stricken by trials and hard times and sickness. We must fill our personal arsenal with medicines to help us get through such times, Laughter is one of the best medicines I have found to help me and my family get through such times. Laughter triggers a wide range of positive physical, mental, and social effects in the human body. It serves as an immediate stress reliever and contributes to improved long-term health by stimulating organs, boosting the immune system, and releasing beneficial neurochemicals.
Physical effects
A hearty laugh reduces physical tension and stress, leaving muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes afterward. Personally, the after-effects of a good belly laugh can last for days. I’’l take that any time, Parkinson’s or not!
Laughter increases oxygen intake, which stimulates the heart, lungs, and muscles. This enhances circulation and can protect against cardiovascular problems. During my last visit to our family physician, he told me my heart was in tip-top condition and I could not help but think this was due to all the laughter God has brought into my life.
It causes the body to increase the number of antibody-producing cells, such as T-cells and B-cells, which help fight off infections and disease. I hardly ever get sick - and even when I do - I look for ways to enjoy myself and this often means finding something to laugh about.
Laughter triggers the brain to release endorphins, the body's natural painkillers, which can temporarily relieve pain and increase pain tolerance. Honestly, I have found that laughing tends to dampen the symptoms and pain often associated with PD.
Laughing reduces the levels of stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine, putting the brakes on the "fight-or-flight" response. Truth is, having Parkinson’s tends to put the breaks on my flight-or-flight response. The truth is, I am so weakened by the illness I could not fight or take flight if I wanted to…which is hilarious to think about.
While not a replacement for exercise, 10 to 15 minutes of laughter can burn a small number of calories and provide an aerobic workout for various muscles, including the diaphragm and abdomen. Need I say more?
Mental effects
Laughter increases the release of "feel-good" chemicals like endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin in the brain, which promote a sense of well-being and can help lift your mood. Who doesn’t want to feel better?
By activating brain areas associated with positive emotions and reducing stress hormones, laughter can lessen feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression. When I am depressed, I often look outside myself and seek to brighten someone else’s day. This takes my eyes off of myself and tends to reduce stress.
Humor provides a healthy coping mechanism, allowing you to see problems in a less threatening light and handle challenges more effectively. By keeping our eyes fixed on the joy Jesus took in me - according to Hebrews 12:2 NAV “for the joy that was set before him endured the cross” - I believe we were the joy set before Him that helped Him endure the cross - I can handle most anything these days.
The increased oxygenation from laughing can help you think more clearly, improve memory, and enhance creativity. This is such a rich mother lode of creativity for me. To be able to laugh in spite of what life throws my way often leads to outbursts of creativity, most often musically and in my writing. I think this has been a major reason I have never really faced writer’s block. There’s simply too much joy when I think of all God has done to get me to where I am today.
Social effects
Shared laughter is a powerful tool for building bonds, strengthening relationships, and fostering emotional connection. Last Wednesday night at our home church gathering, we went around the room sharing things no one else would know about us. This brought up many embarrassing moments and heaps of laughers as we each went around the room sharing. It is so good to laugh with others.
Laughter can help diffuse tension and resolve disagreements. Humor helps you put conflict into perspective and move past confrontations. Most of the time when disagreeing with someone else, I will simply concede to self-effacing humor about myself because it tends to take the wind out of the sails of my detractors and accusers. It just does.
Laughter is contagious, and simply hearing someone else laugh can prime your brain to smile and join in, fostering a sense of connection. Because I am so melancholic, I can find great release in crying with others just as easily as laughing with them…but I prefer laughing. I have found that both tears and laughter can foster a sense of connection and I am not afraid to go either place…which makes me laugh!
Even though the DBS surgery has rendered my tremors and brain fog nonexistent, in some ways our family has been robbed of those humorous moments like when the grandchildren would see my right arm and hand tremoring and would call it my ‘party hand’ or when, during meal time prayers, all the grandchildren would begin to shake their held hands just like me. But we have learned to turn that around, as crazy as that seems, and the grandchildren - or I - will still shake their hands during prayer time with one eye open to see if they are causing the adults to laugh…and generally, they are!
For the past 6 and a half years, I would say I have had moments of having a broken, stricken, wounded, spirit from time to time due to Parkinson’s, and because we are in this together, Melinda has had more than her fair share of those feelings, but I will say that one of the major medicines the Lord has used to bring healing to our wounded spirits is laughter. We have moments where one of us says something that cracks the other up without meaning to…mostly that’s Melinda. I’ve shared this story before but it is worth the time it takes to remind you. She works on designing and building fine custom jewelry. One day she said, “Here. Hold this…but don’t touch it!” I asked her, “How am I supposed to do that?” When she realized what she had said, we both began to laugh uncontrollably - and to this day I still don’t know what she meant…and this makes me laugh even more! We have learned to laugh at ourselves.
A more recent episode that caused us great laughter was as we were preparing for bed. I was trying to read her clues as to whether or not she was being amorous with me…just as she was spraying nasal spray into each nostril. I heard the ‘ssst ssst’ of the spray and asked her, “Is that the sound that you are going to be making to let me know you are ‘in the mood’ or not? She asked me what I meant by that and, of course, I had reenact what had just happened. I said, “Is that your new signal to me that you are wanting intimacy? Ssst ssst?” We began to laugh our heads off and went to bed happy whether or not we had physical intimacy or not. Such is the joy we find in the most mundane and ridiculous moments of life because we have learned to laugh at ourselves.
I have encouraged my grandchildren to learn the intricacies of Dad Jokes and my love of a good pun. Melinda and I have learned to not take even my illness quite so seriously and are learning to laugh at the way growing old is affecting our relationship. We watch a lot of comedy movies - even though this is difficult to do for us with a great deal of all the movies being produced today laced with vulgar language or sexual imagery. There are still many we can turn to for a good evening of laughter. Most of the following were suggested by my children but I concur that are great movies… like “The Princess Bride” or “Reds” or “Red Notice” or “Heads of State” or “Elf” or “Oh, Brother Where Art Thou” or “The Mummy” or “Galaxy Quest” or “Napoleon Dynamite” or “Home Alone” or “Cheaper By the Dozen” or “Nacho Libre” or “Signs” (even though it’s not a comedy I still love the way this movie makes me feel) or “ Second Hand Lions” or Son of Rambow” or “The Princess Diaries” or “Father of the Bride”
I Took Melinda, many years ago now, to see Jerry Seinfeld and was very pleased with how clean and kind he was on stage. It is not difficult to find clean comedians today, thanks to the rise of people like Nate Bergatze. For Melinda’s birthday this year, I took her to see Nate and I literally cried I laughed for so long. In addition, I love Jim Gaffigan, Brian Regan, Leanne Morgan and several others.
Can you tell I love to laugh? I absolutely love to laugh with my grandchildren. It really does go a long way towards healing my wounded spirit. I’ll leave you with some of the very brief jokes I have made for my grandchildren. They often respond with jokes of their own back to me, but I want to give you a few examples of just how easy and healing it is to laugh - even in hard times.
What do you call a snowman who works out? The abdominal snowman.
What goes up when the rain comes down?
Umbrellas.
What is the difference between a teacher and a train? A teacher says, “Spit out your gum,” and a train says, “Choo! Choo!”
What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear.
Why did the koala eat so much eucalyptus? Because it could not leaf it alone.
What animals can jump higher than the Sydney Harbor bridge? All animals, because the Sydney Harbor Bridge cannot jump!
What does a raincloud wear under its raincoat? Thunderwear.
What happens when it’s raining cats and dogs? You might step in a poodle.
The above info is from a book I am currently working on called “Parkinson’s & Recreation 3 - The No Parkinson’s Zone”. It is unedited and may have additions made in the final manuscript. Dennis Jernigan
Photo courtesy of https://pixabay.com/photos/smile-men-worker-vertically-1591798/