Laughter

Yes, the 5th and final secret of Aging Well is Laughter. Another simple thing it would seem. Yet in a recent study by cardiologists at the University of Maryland, they concluded that laughter may have beneficial effects on the heart. Other studies have already been shown that laughter is in fact beneficial to every operating system in the body.

There are those who can speak of laughter better than I so I’ve gathered a few quotes from people you will find very knowledgeable on the subject of laughter.

A day without laughter is a day wasted –Charlie Chaplin

 Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand – Mark Twain

Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the god – Albert Einstein

Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it. Bill Cosby

Perhaps I know best why it is man alone who laughs; he alone suffers so deeply that he had to invent laughter. Friedrich Nietzsche

Laughter is the tonic, the relief, the surcease for pain – Charlie Chaplin

From the moment I picked your book up until I laid it down, I was convulsed with laughter. Someday I intend reading it. – Groucho Marx 

You can’t deny laughter; when it comes, it plops down in your favorite chair and stays as long as it wants. Stephen King 

Everybody laughs the same in every language because laughter is a universal connection – Yakov Smirnoff

Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face. Victor Hugo

Laughter is inner jogging. Norman Cousins

Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effect – Arnold H. Glasow

 I think laughter may be a form of courage. As humans we sometimes stand tall and look into the sun and laugh, and I think we are never more brave than when we do that – Linda Ellerbee 

At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities – Jean Houston

She knew what all smart women knew: Laughter made you live better and longer – Gail Parent

If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans – Woody Allen

To truly laugh, you must be able to take your pain, and play with it! – Charlie Chaplin

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win – Mahatma Gandhi

I once spent a year in Philadelphia, I think it was on a Sunday. W.C. Fields

A day without sunshine is like, you know, night – Steve Martin

And last but not least, by one of my favor songwriter/composers – George M. Cohan, Always leave them laughing when you say goodbye.

Laughter is the greatest gift we are given in life. For longevity I recommend huge doses every chance you get. All my best to all of you who follow – Laughter, truly the best medicine of all, Penny L Howe