If You Can Laugh About It Tomorrow. . .
- a central truth -
Laughter is a choice you make.
The excursion is the same
when you go looking for your sorrow
as when you go looking for your joy. 2
Make it when you need it most –
when you go through tough times.
Look back twenty years.
Are there things that made you weep?
OK, look back five years.
Are there things that were embarrassments?
Now, look back just one year.
Are there things that gave you some concern?
Look at them now.
Do some make you laugh?
Can you laugh about them now?
I bet some of them are great jokes already.
How can you now laugh at something that once made you cry?
How come yesterday’s embarrassment is now your favorite joke?
An optimist laughs to forget,
a pessimist forgets to laugh.
How is it that a former concern is now a laughing matter?
You now know better.
You wept because it hurt:
because you dreaded the loss and feared the pain.
Your weeping did nothing positive to your hurting soul.
Your weeping did not repair the loss.
Your weeping did not lessen the pain.
If the matter was resolved,
it was not by your tears.
They tell you that time healed the wounds.
You say no, the wounds healed with time.
You let go and initiated the healing process.
You found reason to continue in spite of whatever it was.
You searched for, and found an angle to it that could amuse you.
You understood that what was done was done and could not be undone.
You just chose to continue with your life on a lighter note.
You can now see the big picture and it made the pain insignificant.
In fact, some of your concerns were unnecessary
- they never happened.
Some happened but brought in their wake good you couldn't imagine.
"Why didn't I see that before,”
you exclaim
- It just makes you laugh.
God is a comedian,
playing to an audience
too afraid to laugh. 3
Others that happened were either not as tough as you had feared,
or you just found strength to cope with them in spite of their gravity
- that makes you laugh, too.
But here you are again weeping about what will make you laugh twenty years from now.
Here you are again bothered about a situation
that might become a joke somewhere down the road.
Here you are again tearing yourself apart
when it's just another brewing.
Can't you do yourself the favor of having that laugh now?
Can't you begin to enjoy that joke now?
A smile starts on the lips,
A grin spreads to the eyes,
A chuckle comes from the belly;
But a good laugh bursts forth from the soul,
Overflows,
and bubbles all around. 4
How?
Just imagine yourself in a two-year time warp. Wow!
Get up, go to a mirror and begin to tell yourself this joke (yes, that’s what it is).
Or, if you must cry, sulk or gripe;
do it looking into the mirror.
Begin to analyze the details of your face.
Save it in your memory
(you'll definitely need it for your future jokes).
Next, get a pen and notepad and resume your crying, sulking or griping.
Write down, every five minutes,
how much of the problem you've solved by your motions.
If after an hour you have three on your list,
you are a genius.
If not, try this . . .
Resume your crying, sulking or griping
(whichever is your favorite)
with your tape recorder rolling.
Record and play back your activity.
Is it funny?
Then give yourself a good laugh.
You're now ready to solve the problem.
I always knew looking back on my tears
would bring me laughter,
but I never knew looking back on my laughter
would make me cry. 5
Tell yourself this:
I will laugh about this too someday
and that someday is today.
Try as much as possible to be wholly alive,
with all your might,
and when you laugh,
laugh like hell
and when you get angry,
get good and angry.
Try to be alive.
You will be dead soon enough. 6
If you can laugh about it today,
you’ve solved half the problem.
If you can laugh about it tomorrow,
you can laugh about it today.
If You Can Laugh About It Tomorrow,
You Can Today 1
You laugh at me because I am different,
but I laugh at you because you are all the same.
- a central truth -
Laughter is a choice you make.
The excursion is the same
when you go looking for your sorrow
as when you go looking for your joy. 2
Make it when you need it most –
when you go through tough times.
Look back twenty years.
Are there things that made you weep?
OK, look back five years.
Are there things that were embarrassments?
Now, look back just one year.
Are there things that gave you some concern?
Look at them now.
Do some make you laugh?
Can you laugh about them now?
I bet some of them are great jokes already.
How can you now laugh at something that once made you cry?
How come yesterday’s embarrassment is now your favorite joke?
An optimist laughs to forget,
a pessimist forgets to laugh.
How is it that a former concern is now a laughing matter?
You now know better.
You wept because it hurt:
because you dreaded the loss and feared the pain.
Your weeping did nothing positive to your hurting soul.
Your weeping did not repair the loss.
Your weeping did not lessen the pain.
If the matter was resolved,
it was not by your tears.
They tell you that time healed the wounds.
You say no, the wounds healed with time.
You let go and initiated the healing process.
You found reason to continue in spite of whatever it was.
You searched for, and found an angle to it that could amuse you.
You understood that what was done was done and could not be undone.
You just chose to continue with your life on a lighter note.
You can now see the big picture and it made the pain insignificant.
In fact, some of your concerns were unnecessary
- they never happened.
Some happened but brought in their wake good you couldn't imagine.
"Why didn't I see that before,”
you exclaim
- It just makes you laugh.
God is a comedian,
playing to an audience
too afraid to laugh. 3
Others that happened were either not as tough as you had feared,
or you just found strength to cope with them in spite of their gravity
- that makes you laugh, too.
But here you are again weeping about what will make you laugh twenty years from now.
Here you are again bothered about a situation
that might become a joke somewhere down the road.
Here you are again tearing yourself apart
when it's just another brewing.
Can't you do yourself the favor of having that laugh now?
Can't you begin to enjoy that joke now?
A smile starts on the lips,
A grin spreads to the eyes,
A chuckle comes from the belly;
But a good laugh bursts forth from the soul,
Overflows,
and bubbles all around. 4
How?
Just imagine yourself in a two-year time warp. Wow!
Get up, go to a mirror and begin to tell yourself this joke (yes, that’s what it is).
Or, if you must cry, sulk or gripe;
do it looking into the mirror.
Begin to analyze the details of your face.
Save it in your memory
(you'll definitely need it for your future jokes).
Next, get a pen and notepad and resume your crying, sulking or griping.
Write down, every five minutes,
how much of the problem you've solved by your motions.
If after an hour you have three on your list,
you are a genius.
If not, try this . . .
Resume your crying, sulking or griping
(whichever is your favorite)
with your tape recorder rolling.
Record and play back your activity.
Is it funny?
Then give yourself a good laugh.
You're now ready to solve the problem.
I always knew looking back on my tears
would bring me laughter,
but I never knew looking back on my laughter
would make me cry. 5
Tell yourself this:
I will laugh about this too someday
and that someday is today.
Try as much as possible to be wholly alive,
with all your might,
and when you laugh,
laugh like hell
and when you get angry,
get good and angry.
Try to be alive.
You will be dead soon enough. 6
If you can laugh about it today,
you’ve solved half the problem.
If you can laugh about it tomorrow,
you can laugh about it today.
If You Can Laugh About It Tomorrow,
You Can Today 1
You laugh at me because I am different,
but I laugh at you because you are all the same.
Jon bought two horses, and could never remember which was which.
A neighbour suggested that he cut the tail of one horse
and that worked great until the other horse got his tail caught in a bush.
It tore just right and looked exactly like the other horse's tail
and our friend was stuck again.
The neighbour suggested Jon notch the ear of one horse.
That worked fine until the other horse
caught his ear on a barbed wire fence.
Once again our friend couldn't tell them apart.
The neighbour suggested he measure the horses for height.
When he did, he was very pleased to find
that the black horse was 2 inches taller than the white one.
A neighbour suggested that he cut the tail of one horse
and that worked great until the other horse got his tail caught in a bush.
It tore just right and looked exactly like the other horse's tail
and our friend was stuck again.
The neighbour suggested Jon notch the ear of one horse.
That worked fine until the other horse
caught his ear on a barbed wire fence.
Once again our friend couldn't tell them apart.
The neighbour suggested he measure the horses for height.
When he did, he was very pleased to find
that the black horse was 2 inches taller than the white one.
I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge
- myth is more potent than history
- dreams are more powerful than facts
- hope always triumphs over experience
- laughter is the cure for grief
- love is stronger than death. 7
You grow up the day you have the first real laugh -- at yourself. 8
Laugh as much as you breathe
and love as long as you live.
- myth is more potent than history
- dreams are more powerful than facts
- hope always triumphs over experience
- laughter is the cure for grief
- love is stronger than death. 7
You grow up the day you have the first real laugh -- at yourself. 8
Laugh as much as you breathe
and love as long as you live.
____________________________
Acknowledgements:
[1] If You Can Laugh About It Tomorrow ~Chimezirim Odimba
[2] ~Eudora Welty
[3] ~Voltaire
[4] ~Carolyn Birmingham
[5] ~Cat Stevens
[6] ~William Saroyan
[7] ~Robert Fulghum
[8] ~Ethel Barrymore
Media: Ring Of Fire
Acknowledgements:
[1] If You Can Laugh About It Tomorrow ~Chimezirim Odimba
[2] ~Eudora Welty
[3] ~Voltaire
[4] ~Carolyn Birmingham
[5] ~Cat Stevens
[6] ~William Saroyan
[7] ~Robert Fulghum
[8] ~Ethel Barrymore
Media: Ring Of Fire
For prayer requests and more, visit our sister site Stella Maris,
- a place where truth and beauty dwells: or write for information.
- a place where truth and beauty dwells: or write for information.
To submit comments, requests or materials,
contact me at: klaas-tuinman@live.ca
contact me at: klaas-tuinman@live.ca
I gladly welcome all article, haiku, humour and poem contributions
For empowerment workshops and seminars see: http://www.dawncoveabbey.org/healing-circle
For empowerment workshops and seminars see: http://www.dawncoveabbey.org/healing-circle
| _______________________________________________________ A MorningStar Inspiration from Dawn Cove Abbey Roadside assistance for your Journey through Life ________________________________________________ |
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