There are few things more important to me than fun. I’ve just spent a weekend in LA with a wonderful group of friends, putting work and worries aside while we just enjoyed ourselves. America is a great place to have fun – people arrive with smiles on their faces and cheerfully chat to whoever is near them. This can be a bit disconcerting for a Brit. We’re not used to talking to strangers, and can feel there is something fake about the joviality. I guess sometimes there is, but I’ll take it over aloof coolness all the same.
Children are particularly good at having fun. It seems we train ourselves out of it as we get older, spending time achieving goals rather than wasting time on frivolous jollity. But more and more I think that fun is key to a healthy life and far from wasted time. It should be a goal in itself.
When we have fun it lightens up all of our problems, so they seem manageable. Sharing a joke connects you with people. When I lived in Pakistan, I found word-plays went down really well and helped to reduce the barriers between me and people with a very different experience of life. When I lived in Italy I wasn’t so good at the language, so I had to rely on physical comedy.
Humour pierces through ego and stops us from taking ourselves too seriously. There is good evidence that laughter makes us more creative and better at coping with life. It improves our relationships and reduces stress. Hurrah!
So…next time you find yourself holding back from making that really corny joke…don’t! Silliness makes you more creative and happier! Which is why I want to share one final link to make you laugh.
This sounds very much like a conversation me and my other half have had.
Never a truer word spoken and one that I think is starting to spread! Hooray for the realisation that a lot of us have been lacking such basic needs, but needs that are so important in enriching our lives 🙂
I often notice the difference in people when visiting other countries and come home wishing that England was more relaxed and open to conversation with a stranger. It makes life so much more fun and interesting!
A smile from a stranger in the street on a sunny day makes my week. It’s just a shame that this only happens when the sun is shining.
We are all the same and most of us are striving to just ‘be happy’. I vote we keep spreading the word about happiness and laughter and try to be the first to take the step into the uneasy territory of freely speaking to someone we don’t know, just because we have something to say. We can then hope for a ripple effect 🙂
Lovely words Izzy, thanks for sharing. You’ve definitely brightened my day!