laugh like no one is listening

When
was the last time you laughed hard? I’m talking gut-wrenching, from
your knees, cackling, everybody stops & stares to see what is
going on, tears streaming down your face, kind of laughter.

If it
was this morning then you win.

A few
days ago I was visiting a friend. She has a sweet, little infant boy
who delights in being held & snuggled. 

As
she carried him around on her chest, he stared up into her eyes loving
the lull of the rise & fall of her chest, appearing completely
content with the dance pattern her footsteps created on the floor. 

He
would occasionally look up completely enthralled by his mama & his surroundings in general & allow a full on gummy smile to
spread across his face.

I
recall her noting the joy he took in expressing his joy,
without feeling any shame that he delighted in the moment. He needed
absolutely no permission to warrant the smile, the coo, and the
laugh. He was happy & that was enough of a reason to enjoy.

I
took her comment & stored it away in my back pocket until I was at a singles event later with-you guessed it–hundreds of single people. I
love the palpable awkwardness that these kinds of scenarios can
create. We try to stave off the awkward, but–like in almost any
social circumstance–you just cannot plan for every shade of crayon
in the box. And sometimes macaroni & cheese just does not play
well with salmon pink. [fact.] Most people are weird. It’s awesome.
Anyways.

As
you know, as adults, we take social cues from other people. We use
our manners, we’re polite. We [generally] do not step too far out of
the box. We [tend to] not draw a lot of attention to ourselves. 

person
a: “Are you eating?”

person
b: “Yes. I think so…but probably in a little bit when
the line dies done.”

person
a: “Oh. Yes. That’s a good idea. I’ll wait too.”

person
c, walks up: “Hey! I’m going to get in line for food, you want
to come?”

person
a&b: “sure!”

We go
with the flow, so to speak.

But
what I wondered was, “would any of us laugh
unashamed simply because we were having a good time? Would we
stand in the corner & smile just because we were happy to be
there? “

Well,
standing in the corner makes it weird. (Just smile, but not in the
corner.)

There’s
a point & it is this:

How
often do we box ourselves in for the comfort of someone else? How
often do we muffle our laughs for the sake of others?

We
know instinctively as kids that it is good to play. We don’t have to
be told that it feels great to run through the wind just to feel it
against our face. Nor do we have to be taught to sing to the song in
our head or dance to the music playing in our hearts. We know not to bother with the mess jumping in a puddle will make–because jumping in puddles is fun, dang it. 

We
just know. So we just do.

And
as kids we do so without stopping to think about the consequences of
another person’s thoughts about our actions because we (correctly)
just couldn’t give two flying squirrels about another’s thoughts
about our actions. {Yes, unfortunately “two flying squirrels” is here to stay.}

{Now, don’t go & get all worked up about manners & etiquette & being considerate. That’s not what this is about.}

This
is about enjoying life for the sake of enjoyment’s sake.

Life
is painfully short. Your laugh, your funky, nonrhythmic dance moves,
your out of tune song…they are all needed in this life. Maybe not
for anyone else’s sake but your own.

I
have a friend whose laugh can be heard a block away. It is unlike any
laugh I have ever heard and not only unlike any other, it is also at
a higher decibel than any other as well. He roars when he
laughs. It is loud. It is ridiculous. And it is amazing.

When
you stub your toe, acknowledge that it hurts. When you are betrayed,
be upset. But when you are happy, have a dance party. And when you
find something funny, laugh as if it was the first time ever.

Play
more. Laugh more. Smile more. Be so serious less.