LAUGHTER

I never really stopped to realize that laughter is actually powerful enough to enrich a person's life. As a child my life was pretty rich with laughter that came from fairly simple sources. I used to love watching Looney Tunes every Saturday and Sunday morning and Different Strokes during the week. Those brief minutes of laughter made me feel overjoyed. I had periods when listening to laughter or being the reason for it also made me feel like life was a pretty awesome proposition.

As I grew older laughter became an academic reaction of sorts, like a twitch. I stopped valuing laughter because I slowly realized that laughter can be lined with evil, sarcasm, sadness, frustration and madness. I went from a simplistic child's view to the jaded view of an adult whose life was full of ups and downs. I never realized that those moments of happiness came from allowing myself the chance to laugh freely and without worry.

It took me a while but then as I started to once again watch black and white television I came to the realization that a good laugh can go as far as restoring a period of self confidence that you can lose during the day. It was incredible to think that by laughing at something fairly clean and simple I could actually turn my days around. We take laughter for granted and even call it a waste of time but what we are really saying is that we have forgotten to be free and comfortable during times that call for relaxation and levity. Next time you want to control your laughter think little and let go. Life is too short for us to stay straight faced and unhappy on a consistent basis.

MOVING ON

Often times I see and hear people say that any particular situation is so overwhelming that they cannot move forward. Break ups, make ups, shake ups, screw ups, and any ups or downs are too much. Then there are individuals who move along in a manner that is beyond relaxed, really just borderline catatonic. Why the contrast? Simple, because in life you have to fight to move on no matter what the situation, and you have to fight while moving in order to keep from becoming a stepping stone. People tend to do way more talking and bitching than moving and fighting. I have been guilty of this crime myself, allowing situations beyond my control to take over my spirit and desire. I don't think about it but the truth is that when I do it only serves as a lesson, a lesson that encourages me to want to be different. Over thinking something and letting it get the best of your mind, spirit, body, or whatever is an easy road to perpetual defeat. Not thinking at all leads to the same thing. So the answer, as I see it, is to move and fight do one while doing the other. I know it is so much easier to say than do, but, is there anything in life that is not difficult to some extent? I am sure people will look at this and comment on my lack of a thesis statement, or grammatically correct approach, to that I say a big I DON'T GIVE A SHIT. There is a point behind what is written here, the point is that there is always a fight to be fought and that makes life interesting if we choose to engage and continue. I do not know the answer to the riddle of life but I do know and clearly understand the challenge.