Make 'em laugh

That's the thought for the day that I left with the staff at the end of our morning meeting. Our morning meeting occurs 3 times a week for 15 minutes or so. It's a time to catch up, give updates, and see each other. We usually end the meeting with a thought, word or humor for the day. Since I stepped up to do the meeting on the spot, I had nothing really insightful to say. No word came to mind. No great quote. I couldn't even come up with a joke. All I could do was sing "Make 'em laugh, make 'em laugh, don't you know all the world wants to laugh." You know me, I'm always ready with a song. Most people don't want to hear me sing, but I'm ready anyway. I'm not afraid to look silly. Frankly I think it's one of my best things.

As I thought about it though, I think it's true. I think the world does want to and needs to laugh. We take things way too seriously. I mean do we really care about Paris Hilton. What has she contributed to our lives?

Have you watched the news the last few days? 9 Firefighters died in Charleston. That scares the *.(@# out of me. My brother is a firefighter. It's a reminder of the dangers he faces every day. A young pregnant woman in Hudson, OH (not a large town - I've been there) disappears. Man, there's nothing good in the news.

We need to laugh. Not just a little twitter or giggle. We need to have full fledged belly laughs. Laugh out loud so you embarrass your friends belly laughs. Why? Because it's healthy - the AMA says so. And so does Mary Poppins! Because it's fun. Because life is full of things that are downright hilarious and we must take the time to acknowledge them. To quote the immortal words of that great philosopher, Jimmy Buffet, "If we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane."

Enjoy your day! :-)