Laughter and the Human Experience

When we hear the phrase "the human experience" or "it's just a part of being human" it's usually in reference to suffering, hate, jealousy, pain or some other terrible part of being human. But there is a whole other side - a much better side - that for some reason gets less attention. Beauty, joy, love and laughter are just as much a part of being human.

Of these, I think laughter is the most important. What good are the rest if you're not laughing? Just my opinion, but then I'm a big fan of laughing. Besides being a whole lot of fun, it reduces stress, breaks the ice, builds bonds and even protects the heart.

Oh, and yes, it's a part of the human experience.

The following video is completely in French, but something tells me that you'll be able to understand it even if you don't speak French.

Isn't it wonderful how contagious laughter is?  I dare you NOT to laugh!


My mother and I went to a laughing yoga thing a few years back. It was very strange. We went to the pavilion in Cheeseman Park and just laughed with complete strangers. That's it. That's all we did. It was really quite odd at first, and we had to force the laughter. But after a very short time, we started really laughing. You can't fake laugh for very long without it turning to genuine laughter. It's a beautiful thing. However, even if - for some reason - your laughter doesn't naturally turn into actual giggles, chuckles or guffaws, you will still get the health benefits just the same.
What to do you have to lose?

Subway as art

I love, love this video! It was done by Improve Everywhere http://improveverywhere.com/, and is not as fun as some of their others, like Star Wars Subway Car, or Who You Gonna Call? (which reenacts the opening scene of Ghostbusters in the New York Public Library), but it really is quite enjoyable. It pokes a bit of fun at the art world, but at the same time it makes people look differently at ordinary objects. The descriptions of the "art" (which include trash cans and cables) are priceless - it's worth pausing the video to read them.
My favorite part? When someone puts a red "sold" dot on "The Arriving and Departing Of the Train (Ongoing since 1932)".