laughter

I like to do yoga in the mornings before I run. Typically my dog Jovi will do one of two things: sit on the couch and watch, or join me by showing off how much better she is at downward and upward dog than me. But this week she has decided that it would be fun to lick my face while I am in these inverted poses. And keep licking until I fall down laughing. At which point she licks me some more.

Since this keeps happening I have noticed how beautiful it is to laugh out loud. To hear myself laugh out loud. And to feel that laughter deep in my belly. 

(Give it a try. Even if you have to fake it at first. Take the time to listen to yourself, and yourself alone, laugh out loud!)

Yesterday I spent several hours laughing with a friend from high school. Telling stories. Ones that involved the two of us as well as memories we've made in the years we lost touch.

I appreciated the beauty of my laugh mingling with his. Inspiring one another to laughter. How nice it is to smile until your face hurts.

And of course no talk of laughter would be complete without mentioning the sweet laughter of a child. Their giggles at the silly voices and faces you make when reading them stories and playing with their stuffed animals. Their over-the-top laughter that borders on screaming when they are running, jumping, and can't contain their joy. Their silliness when they first discover that they can be funny and make others laugh too. 

My nieces are definitely in this stage where they think everything is hilarious (and really it kind of is!):

EMBRACE LAUGHTER.

Be it the sound of your laughter alone, mingled with another, or that of a child, relish the sound of laughter today and always!