Laugh at Yourself

We were sitting in her den chatting away like typical teenage girls. My friend in her rocking chair and I opposite her. When suddenly she rocked so exuberantly that she landed backwards in the fireplace behind her. I burst into laughter that was hard to stop. My friend was not amused and to this day I regret, with sadness, that she could not laugh at herself.

The above scene has come back to me many times over the years as one of the funniest sights I have seen and still brings me laughter.

Michael Miller, Cardiologist from the University of Maryland Medical Center, conducted a study on laughter, where he tested how 300 participants would react to slight amounts of stress, such as having a drink spilled on them at a party. Participants self-reported by answering a questionnaire. Half the participants had heart disease.

Dr. Miller found that those who were more able to laugh at themselves were more heart- healthy. Those with heart disease were 40 % less likely to see the humor in life’s everyday absurdities. It’s good for your heart to be able to laugh at yourself.

I hope if I ever land square in the fireplace, I’m howling with laughter. I can’t imagine what else I could do!

(Please know that there was no fire going at the time.)