There is Beauty All Around

“Mt. Reindeer”

The world is a beautiful place, no doubt about it. I don’t have to go far to recognize it either with the grandeur of Mt. Rainier a short distance away. But even we here in Seattle, as lucky as we are, grow far too accustomed to it. We drive along our roads and freeways with it towering in the distance some 29,000 feet high and ignore the beauty that is there. Amazingly taking it all for granted.

I’m reminded of my son Matt. As a little boy while riding in the car with me one afternoon he noticed the mountain (actually a volcano) amid the trees along the road ahead. With excitement in his voice and pointing toward it he said, “Look daddy, there’s Mt. Reindeer!” Might have been close to Christmas but despite his not quite understanding the name he wasn’t denied the joy a child has, and often acknowledges, for the interesting things they notice all around them.

But age and the hustle and bustle — those ever-present distractions of life — will often do that to us. They make us take the sights and sounds, as well as even the people around us for granted. I’d like to think I don’t take the important things of my life for granted, but I know I’m often guilty as well.

Don’t forget to stop and smell the roses and to appreciate your surroundings, your family, your friends and life itself especially… for there is beauty all-around, if only we’ll take the time to notice.

 

 

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The Power of Humor and Laughter

Humor does not diminish the pain – it makes the space around it get bigger.
Allen Klein

I’ve always been a jokester.  As I’ve written my boyhood best friend (bbf) and I were always cut ups and “the biggest fans of one another’s comedic skills.”  Comedy was our forte’!  (So we thought.)  I like to laugh.  I pity anyone who doesn’t.  Hard to believe there are people around who don’t much care for laughter… having a good time… a sense of humor. So it seems anyway.

There’s real power in humor and laughter.  They entertain us and make us feel good.  Laughter they say is the best medicine.  Laughter heals, alleviates pain, relieves stress and anxiety.  Researchers say humor is anti-aging and helps us live longer… and there’s more.

However, those powers of humor and laughter for many of us are slipping away.   Maybe it comes with age, we become way too serious.  Children tend to laugh a lot more than adults.  You’ve probably noticed.

The International Congress on Humor (who knew?) found that laughter is down as much as 82% from the 1950’s.  In those days people laughed on average 18 minutes a day.  Today, it’s between 4-6 minutes a day.  I guess laughter isn’t as much fun as it used to be.