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200 words, Diana Schwenk, happy, joy, laughter, living in the moment, LOL
Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God ~ Karl Barth
LOL is a common internet slang these days.
Yet have we forgotten how truly marvelous it is to laugh out loud?
Remember all that laughing and giggling we did as kids?
Belly laughs that had us clutching our stomachs as we fell to the floor with tears streaming from our eyes?
Why do we beat ourselves up when we do stupid things instead of laughing it off?
~
Back in the day, I attended a small community church in BC.
I learned to play guitar and sometimes led the singing.
On one occasion a guitar string broke and I announced,
Oh shit my G-string broke!
As soon as the words left my mouth I was mortified.
My face reddened.
I felt stupid.
But out in the audience people fell off their chairs in hysterical fits of laughter.
Sure I laugh about it now
but I wish I’d been able to laugh then.
I want to be able to laugh at myself now – not 20 years later.
Because odds are I’ll do something stupid again.
~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~
When did you last laugh?
talktodiana 
You know how they say men think of sex every eight minutes? I laugh every eight minutes. Actually,.. I think about sex. Then I laugh.
Seriously (seriously?), there is nothing I value higher than laughter! I’ve been the class clown since way back when.
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how lucky for you to laugh so often! It is good for the heart and general countenance!
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I have to be beaten pretty low before I’ll lose my sense of humor. For a while, in fact, the worse things get, the more active it becomes (laughter being the best defense and the best medicine).
About the time things get so bad you just want to curl up under the covers for a good cry, that’s about when stuff can stop seeming funny to me.
But it never lasts. My love of funny is one of the truly unsinkable things about me!
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Unsinkable funnyness! Love it!
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Have you seen this?
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Nothing seems to be there to see?
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This is great. It seems to take forever before anyone actually says anything though – I’d find it a bit strange at first but I’d love to have a laugh on the London Underground and see what happens 😛 To be honest though, when I am with friends and have had a good funny conversation, people have made eye contact and smiled or even added a comment.
Laughing is VERY good for you!
What a treat, to read Diana’s very meaningful (and entertaining) thoughts and then get a good laugh at the end of the comments too! =D
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oh I see the link now! hahaha! What’s with the one guy who moves away and seems extra troubled by all the contagious laughter? That one blond on the left is hillarious!
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This is very funny story. Almost fell of my sofa. Lol. But I find it very refreshing thought, laugh off our mistakes and get it out of our system instead of the blaming and mental beating up. Kids do the laugh offs all the time. great great point!
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yes and now to remember to do it the next time, even if it starts out forced! I’m lecturing myself, not you!
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🙂 It’s true what you say unfortunately…I guess I average those really gut wrenching laughs you just can’t stop about 3-4 times a year. Of course, I smile a lot more than that, but I mean those laughs you get a stomach ache from 🙂 And as I write this I can feel a stupid grin on my face…yep, it turned into a laugh too!!!
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Happy for you! I may do one hard belly laugh a year!
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I definitely LOL-ed over your story, but in all seriousness the message is a much graver situation. Thank you for motivating a few more people (myself included) to choose laughter over self beatings for “stupid” things done or said.
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I have to constantly remind myself too. Thanks for stopping by Jaime!
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G-string – isn’t that always the one that breaks? 🙂
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haha – it sure seems that way!
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Now that is definitely an LOL!!!
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Happy if I could make you laugh!
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Great story! I wish I’d been there! It’s not the miles, it’s the smiles and laughter you have along the way!
Russ
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I love the laughing on that commercial!
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p.s. Read this to hubby who is now also Laughing out LOUD! Thanks for the giggles ♥( our son is a guitarist…and used to lead singing in church also….oh the stories we could share!)
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haha! You’ve peaked my curiousity now!
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😉 He was called on unexpectly to play during prayer at the end of service one Sunday a.m. Being caught off guard….he walked up, sat on the stool, then softly and slowly played….hubby and I opened our eyes and looked up at him….he was grinning….and he was playing a song by Garth Brooks…. called “Beer Run” It was the song that popped in his head…..pastor didn’t know it at the time….but the rest of us did. 😉
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that’s awesome! music is music.
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yes it is!
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This cracks me up….makes me love you more. SOOO much healthier to laugh at ourselves! LAUGHING OUT LOUD! 😉
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glad it made you laugh! Maybe one day I’ll write about the time I said “spank me” on a Christian radio station!
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Oh I must hear this story!!
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Yes, yes, yes!!! I couldn’t agree more. Really, what is better than laughing in life? Not much. My very favorite people are the exact ones who make the tears stream down my face with frequency. Great post, Diana!!
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Thanks J! Yeah I’m overdue for a good, painful, tears gushing belly laugh! You ever laugh so much sound stops coming and your mouth is just open? 🙂
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Yes! But my claim to fame is laughing so hard I start actually crying. Not just a few tears… More like gushing. Friends seem to love it because we are all still rolling… I love the people who can get me to that place. 🙂
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must be quite a sight!
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I laugh often when reading blogs, and when playing with my grandkids it feels good to laugh…………..however, many of the comedy movies around today are not that funny…………..well not for me…………….as for doing stupid things I do many stupid things and thankfully I can laugh at myself most of the time…….
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T’is indeed a gift to be able to laugh at yourself!
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Oh I can imagine that and get a good out loud laugh as I sit here now… I love the “mouth before brain” that some people come out with.. seeing as I’m am particularly prone to the disease myself… but I must admit I normally apologize through the tears of laughter…
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That’s wonderful bulldog ‘apologizing through the tears of laughter’ – I like that.
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That’s such a great story. Gave me a good laugh this morning. I love those really uncontrollable giggles… they’re the best.
Once when I was a news anchor at a very, very low budget station in Binghamton, NY… I was doing the 11 o’clock newscast when a giant cockroach appeared and started crawling along the floor in front of the anchor desk. The only other person in the studio was the guy on camera. He stepped on the roach and it made a huge crunch. I was sure my microphone picked up the sound… it was so loud! And I started laughing and couldn’t stop.
Maybe it’s something about making mistakes in front of an audience that adds to the funniness?
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Glad you could laugh in the moment rather than wait 20 years…or was it nervous laughter?
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G-string? ( laughing )
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On the guitar!! (laughing too)
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Tee hee — I laugh everyday as much as I can — and often at myself because, as I like to remind my daughters and those close to me, I am so funny! 🙂
I make myself laugh constantly — actually not because I’m so funny but rather, because I’m so human.
And our human condition has to be taken lightly. It’s so…. funny!
We think we’re measured by broken g-strings and expletives that exhale themselves into a moment of stress when really, we’re measured by how we laugh!
I’m so glad you gave me such good cause to laugh this morning — and I’m glad you’re laughing at yourself now. You are so beautiful in your laughter!
Hugs
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I love that about you and I’ve heard say “I’m so funny”! I think you would really appreciate this Bill Cosby quote too:
“There is hope for the future because God has a sense of humor and we are funny to God.”
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I try to always measure my wealth by, not how much money I have in the bank, but By how often I laugh every day….. Not by how much money, I have socked away in RRSP’s but by how many people I cherish…..
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Great values to live by Mary! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your wisdom. 🙂
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least time I really laughed? just now, thanks to you..he he..you really ought to mind those wardrobe malfunctions..
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(smiling) thanks for the tip! So glad you laughed.
xo
Diana
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