Do you ever feel laughter-starved?  Like honest-to-goodness laughter.  Not just a half-smile-before-moving-on-to-the-next-task kind of thing but like a real belly-jiggling-oh-my-face-is-hurting-but-I-can’t-stop kind of thing.  It’s not that things aren’t funny, but sometimes I feel like the time I invest in actually appreciating them is minimal – not as heavily weighted as the time I spend doing other things.

Until a few days ago when my 5 year old nephew grabbed his mom’s iPhone and texted me with the 4 letters that had me actually lol‘ing:

POOP

What?!  I sputtered out loud.  And then when it sunk in what had happened and I pictured my sweet, big-brown-eyed nephew with that sneaky/excited smile on his face, I BURST into laughter.  My kids caught me doubled-over, phone still in my hand.

“What?  What’s so funny, Mom?” they chimed in, already giggling even though they had no idea what was going on.

“Poop!!!”  I exclaimed.  “Aiden texted me ‘poop!'”

“Let’s see, let’s see!”  My daughter grabbed my wrist to pull the phone closer to her.

“See?!”

And there we were, the 3 of us, standing next to the kitchen island, howling over a 4 letter word that had the capacity to actually make me laugh out loud.

Yesterday, my son and I were driving to the store and out of the blue, he says with a giggle, “Aiden text my mom poop!  Haha!”

I once read a church sign – and this was probably 25 years ago – that said, “He who laughs, lasts.”  With everything I have learned about laughter yoga through my friend, Nish, who is a certified instructor, I see the truth behind that quote.

When was the last time YOU actually lol‘d?  (Like when you type lol in your emails, texts or fbook messages – do you actually laugh out loud?  Just curious.)  Do you remember what it feels like to be out of control, doubled-over?  You know, when you’re laughing so hard, you’re actually just silently shaking until your body HAS to breathe in?!

image courtesy of stockimages/freeimages.net

If every day life isn’t enough to make you laugh that hard, get out there and attend a comedy show, or watch a funny movie.  Go to a laughter yoga class and get that oxygen and blood flowing.  Take a friend so you can share the experience and then later re-live it over giggles.

If all else fails, text someone POOP today.  Guaranteed to work.

If you’d like to inspire others with this post, please pass it on with some social media love.  If you don’t see the buttons below, click on the title of this post and they will magically appear at the bottom.

P.S. Make space and time for more laughter, love, abundance…whatever else you need…in 2013!  I’ve downloaded my business and life calendar/workbooks from Leonie Dawson and they are fabulous!  Everything I need to organize and dream in a brightly coloured, creative package.  Check them out here if you’re looking for that extra-something that will help you take 2013 to another level!