by Gary Peterson

Created on: April 18, 2007   Last Updated: April 30, 2007

Laughing feels good. Laughter is contagious. It's also addictive. Maybe humor should be treated like a controlled substance. After all, it is the leading cause of laughter. Real laughter. I'm talking about spontaneous, involuntary spasms of genuine mirth. Artificially induced chortling needn't apply.

Technically speaking, laughter is caused by the sudden and favorable resolution of an anxiety. Laughter is an effect, not a cause. It is the reaction to, and a symptom of humor. We yawn, we sneeze, and we laugh. And like any physical paroxysm, laughing affects our physiology evidently in a good way for the heart, due in part to stress relief. Yes, the endorphin-rush of laughter is a tonic to many mental and physical maladies, but the quality of humor that uncorks it varies as widely as Boone's Farm to Bordeaux.

Some people try to use laughter to establish their superiority in the social hierarchy - the pecking order. It is just as gratifying not to laugh at these connivers: leave them twisting in their own wind. Others laugh just to convince themselves that they are having fun. This is fake laughter and, like canned laughter, it leaves a bad taste in my ears. Genuine laughter has a musical quality.

Humor is where it finds you. Be happy when it does, but stop trying to summons it at will. It cheapens the effect. Maybe we should all just learn to relax. Meditate; do yoga; solve a math problem; touch your nose with your tongue. Pleasure has more manifestations than just laughter. If we weren't so stressed in the first place, we wouldn't need the venting action of laughter. If your disposition is good, humor will find you. If you're really funny, you may even get lucky. Laughter has a charitable effect on people.

Humor can also be an art form. Don't compromise it by cackling at every irony, pun, and bodily function. A sense of satisfaction will soon supersede the honk-fest of social laughter. Never laugh at your own jokes. Your wit is an indication creativity and intelligence, whereas unbridled laughter at anything and everything can dim one's wit. As Don Quixote said, "Nothing is as foolish as the excessive laughter over a slight occasion." Then again, he jousted with windmills.

Beware: Humor is almost always based on somebody else's misfortune or shortcoming. Your laughter is sure to offend someone. Of course, that may be your intent. Humor can be a quick fix of poetic justice. At other times, it is just the ego gratification of solving a pun or riddle, i.e. "getting it." But if your ego, urges, or vanity feed a laughter addiction, then the underlying anxieties may grow to be more serious than can be laughed off. Or not.

Laughter is a good thing, but it's best when it sneaks up on you. It's that highly coveted kind of hilarity that makes your face hurt and beer shoot out of your nose. So go ahead, let a smile be your umbrella - but plan on getting wet every now and then. Meanwhile, laugh responsibly.

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