Laugh Away

If you want to win my heart, make me laugh. Really hard. All the time. My heart beats a little faster, I get all twisted up with excitement, and I feel an automatic connection with someone who can make me laugh. There are hundreds of people I've encountered, just passing on the street, sitting in a lecture, waiting in line at the grocery store. Most of them I never see again. We speak five words, maybe a few more on a good day, and that's it. But the ones who made me laugh, I still remember. Even ten, fifteen years later. And I still appreciate them, cherish the friendship, however brief, that I had with them. Maybe I use the word "friendship" loosely. Maybe not. A friend is simply somebody you think of fondly, somebody who you're glad was a part of your life, and whose life you hope to improve by your presence. And that's how I feel about these people.

Don't be afraid of happiness. Don't be afraid to laugh at a joke, even if nobody else thinks it's funny. Don't be afraid to be comforted, to allow yourself to be surrounded by love, to allow those you love to love you in return. Happiness too often is equated with settling, with keeping ourselves from being better, from constantly improving our lives. We've all subscribed to the notion that growth has to be arduous, demanding. That as soon as things get easy, we'll stop progressing. But we forget that simplicity is a challenge in itself, and one of the toughest to overcome. To turn the mundane into something great, to overcome monotony by seeking the good, the best in everything, is the real challenge. And to be happy in the process. Happy with what you've been given, with where you are, and most of all, with where you're going. It's our course we choose that refines us, and how we choose to view that trek. And there's nothing wrong with a little laughter along the way.