Laughter
I've always enjoyed the Reader's Digest section Laughter is the Best Medicine. But what I have always wondered is why not everyone agrees with what is funny to the point of laughter. There are often times when a student in my class will say or do something obnoxious and some students will laugh, others chuckle, and I will stand there disappointed. And there are occasions when a student says something that is funny and I will laugh, knowing that I probably shouldn't laugh but I found it funny.
Where does laughter originate? And for that matter, where do tears begin as well. I suspect that the two are closely related. I read a Sports Illustrated article about my beloved Red Sox and the impact the 2004 team had on families across New England and I cried. My wife didn't understand. I'm not much of a cryer but for each time the author mentioned a connection of family because of the Red Sox, I choked up and then laughed at the same time. So, I figure if I can cry as well as laugh, both at the same thing, then perhaps they come from the same place.
The shortest verse in the Bible is "Jesus wept." I can't recall the a line that is anything close to Jesus laughed, but I have to believe he did. What with the posturing of various disciples to sit at the right hand of Jesus. Abraham laughed. The Bible itself is comical. An all powerful and all knowing God, placing a dancing, half-naked David as King of Israel. Or Peter, never quite able to figure things out, wishy-washy, being dubbed "the Rock." The rock of what? Surely Jesus didn't mean the church. Uh, yes he did mean the church--and that alone makes me laugh and cry at the same time.
Yes, I suspect that our tears and our laughter arises from somewhere within us, in a place we have long protected from the outside world so that we might not be the subject of someone's laughter. Tears and laughter alike tell us, or hint to us at the least, something about who we are and what makes us human. We, I suppose, can shelter that part of our self and hide it from those that share our experience, or we can, like Jesus, weep, or like Abraham, laugh. Both are telling. Both should be listened to.
Where does laughter originate? And for that matter, where do tears begin as well. I suspect that the two are closely related. I read a Sports Illustrated article about my beloved Red Sox and the impact the 2004 team had on families across New England and I cried. My wife didn't understand. I'm not much of a cryer but for each time the author mentioned a connection of family because of the Red Sox, I choked up and then laughed at the same time. So, I figure if I can cry as well as laugh, both at the same thing, then perhaps they come from the same place.
The shortest verse in the Bible is "Jesus wept." I can't recall the a line that is anything close to Jesus laughed, but I have to believe he did. What with the posturing of various disciples to sit at the right hand of Jesus. Abraham laughed. The Bible itself is comical. An all powerful and all knowing God, placing a dancing, half-naked David as King of Israel. Or Peter, never quite able to figure things out, wishy-washy, being dubbed "the Rock." The rock of what? Surely Jesus didn't mean the church. Uh, yes he did mean the church--and that alone makes me laugh and cry at the same time.
Yes, I suspect that our tears and our laughter arises from somewhere within us, in a place we have long protected from the outside world so that we might not be the subject of someone's laughter. Tears and laughter alike tell us, or hint to us at the least, something about who we are and what makes us human. We, I suppose, can shelter that part of our self and hide it from those that share our experience, or we can, like Jesus, weep, or like Abraham, laugh. Both are telling. Both should be listened to.
posted by Mr. McNamar at 10:17 AM
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