Laughter as Diffuser

Today I am grateful for sunshine yesterday, which has been in short supply lately. I am also grateful for laughter. It diffuses tension, uptightness, and my penchant for taking myself too seriously.

I too often do too much for too long without taking a break. I am especially prone to that at home--where the to-do list is never done, including my writing plans. I have learned to pause, but I still tend to be of the mind that I can't relax until I get such-and-such out of the way. There's plenty of room for improvement for me. Little steps. Progress, not perfection.

I got a good reminder of something else that helps when I am overdoing it--laughter. When someone else's laughter evokes pain or frustration in me, I know I am spiritually sick, that I am in need of some redirecting. Luckily, yesterday I hadn't progressed to that point. I was close though. And then the laughter of my son and husband broke through. Something on TV had them both laughing heartily. It stopped me short and made me smile. Whatever I had just had "my undies in a bundle" about shrank back down to manageable size. I can't even remember what it was now, but shortly after their laughter, something got me to laugh outloud (something I don't do often enough). I could almost feel some of the tension exiting.

No big deal. Just a little overthinking, followed by a little laughter. But it was another important reminder of how the little things do matter. I am thankful for such lessons.