When I have the privilege of spending time with them, I am always amazed at how simple life is. For example, give a child an empty box, an inflated balloon, or a pot and a spatula and the possibilities for discovery are many and varied. They may create a cardboard space shuttle, a latex baby in your belly (remember how funny it was to hide a balloon under your shirt and “deliver” it?!), or an out-of-tune steel pot band. Regardless of the medium, fun, laughter, and creativity are endless and so is the innocence and simplicity of it all.
But then something happens. We morph.
We become serious and stoic and the sound of belly laughter is drowned out by the voice of self-sabotage, “My stomach is flabby.” Or we squelch the creative process of music making because banging the metal pot “hurts my ears.”
We zap joy from our little ones and in the process place conditions and limitations upon their purest, most innocent souls. The child that once laughed 400x a day matures into the adult that only laughs on average 15x a day. (True fact.)
So what about you, sunshine? When was the last time you laughed until you doubled over and tears streamed down your cheeks? When did you last find joy in “delivering” a balloon from under your shirt?
Take a few seconds from your busy day today and reclaim the joy that has been covered up over the last few decades. Find something that will make you laugh.
And if you need a little help, click on this quick 10-second clip–it made me laugh out loud. I hope it does for you, too.
Let me know what you laughed at today, sunshine, and what you plan to laugh at tomorrow…and the next day, and…
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Happy April Fool’s Day, friend.