ABOUT THE BLOGGER Rev. Dr. James Mbotela Syomuti, ThD, DD, PhD, is a Kenyan citizen and he lives in Kitui County, near Kitui Town. He is married to Anna and they have been blessed with six children, (four sons and two daughters.) All of their children are now adults and some of them are married. He is a pastor, a teacher, an artist, a writer of fiction and nonfiction, a poet, a humorist and a teacher of the Word of God. He has several certificates and diplomas in theology, from national and international Bible Schools. He has a certificate in Spiritual Life
Development from Northwestern Christian University, in USA.
Above all, he has honorary doctorate degrees of Doctor of Humanity (DH) and Doctor of Theology (ThD) from Prixton Church & University, in USA. He also has a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Ministry Science, and honorary doctorate degrees of; Doctor of Achievement in Ministry Science, Master of Arts (MA) in Ministry Science, Doctor of Divinity (DD) in Ministry Science and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Ministry Science, from Abide University.
LAUGHTER ELONGATES YOUR
LIFESPAN
1. DEFINITION OF LAUGHTER
Let us begin by defining what laughter is. Laughter can be simply
defined as a movement (usually involuntary) of the muscles of the laughing face, particularly of the lips, and of the whole body, with a peculiar expression of the eyes, indicating merriment, satisfaction or derision, and usually attended by a sonorous and interrupted expulsion of air from the lungs.
2. THE ORIGIN OF LAUGHTER
God is the originator or the founder of laughter. He is the first entity to be associated with laughter. God laughs when he desires to do so but human beings may not be aware or hear his laughter. In the book of Psalm 2:4, David says - The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. In the book of Psalm 37:12-13, the Bible says - The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them, but the Lord laughs at the wicked for he knows their day is coming. According to evidence from the Bible, the first human being to laugh was a woman. This is recorded in the book of Genesis 18:12 - Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?" Again, the second time that Sarah the wife of Abraham laughed can be seen in the same book of Genesis 21:6 - Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh." Another case study of laughter in the Bible can be seen in the book of Psalm 126:1-2. - When the Lord brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. This was a typical example of the people of Judah who had been captives in the land of Babylon for many years. They were joyous as they laughed and sang songs of joy when they went back to their homeland in Judah. Show me a cheerful man or woman, and I will show you a man and a woman who have embraced laughter as part and parcel of their
lives. Laughter and cheerfulness are good medicine in a man's life.
King Solomon was a genius. He never acquired any formal education from a particular educational institution. However, he was knowledgeable, he was wise and he was a teacher! He got all these divine endowments directly from God, after he (king Solomon) prayed. In the book of Proverbs 17:22, king Solomon said - "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up bones."
3. THE THREE TYPES OF LAUGHTER
(A) SITUATIONAL OR CIRCUMSTANTIAL LAUGHTER.
This type of laughter is mainly practised or performed in situations where people are eating and drinking. It is a laughter which sends a signal of merry making. In the book of Ecclesiastes 10:9, which was written by king Solomon, the Bible says - A feast is made for laughter and wine makes life merry. Situational laughter is quite evident and common where people are celebrating. Examples can be found in ceremonies like; in weddings, during occasions of rewarding the winners of competitions, like in atheletics, in soccer, in academic excellence, during graduation ceremony occasions, during birthday parties, during homecoming for a family member or a relative who has been away
from home for many days or years, in political gatherings, in places of
worship,(churches) and in other ceremonies which have not been mentioned here. The laughter which is experienced in the situations mentioned above is usually spontaneous and voluntary. In other words, individuals laugh in their own accord, without being forced or persuaded to do so. As people celebrate or make merry due to the food and drinks they are enjoying, they make fun and crack jokes which make them laugh.
(B) DELIBERATE LAUGHTER
This type of laughter occurs in social places where people have
decided and chosen to visit voluntarily. Such places can be found in theaters where actors or comedians act to entertain people and make them laugh. People can also watch TV shows at particular times or days to watch comedians who make them laugh. In some cases, there are acrobats who visit certain places to entertain people and make them laugh. Some radio stations also have special funny audio programs which they present to make their listeners or funs laugh. You can also make use of the existing social media platforms which have a rich variety of reels/videos for you, to watch.
(C) ENRAGED LAUGHTER
This type of laughter is rare and it should only be reserved for God. Sometimes it is practiced by individuals who are annoyed or angry, because of certain offences done to them. This laughter, in most cases, precedes punishment, revenge or harm of some kind. Enraged laughter does not originate from amusement or joy. It is a laughter of anger or irony and it symbolises impending bitter conscequences. It conceals a simmering wrath. Try as much as
possible to avoid this type of laughter. It can bring harm and
destruction. However, there are special cases of people who practice this kind of laughter when they are offended and it acts as an
avenue of relieve for them and as a result, they desist the temptation of causing any harm to their offenders.
4. WHEN SHOULD YOU LAUGH?
Schedule your time to laugh on daily basis. This may seem to be
an absurd and a childish thing to do, but the returns of this simple
virtue which many people ignore, are quite promising. Now, some
questions may arise in your mind, like; Why should I laugh? When
should I laugh? How should I laugh? The above three questions
might yet again appear to be mere folly to you, but don't ignore the
good results of laughter. You can laugh when you are alone! You
can laugh when you are with your spouse, friend(s), colleagues,
contemporaries, comrades, your family members, your relatives or
your age mates.You should laugh because laughter is good and it elongates your lifespan. You can laugh at any time, when it is convenient for you. However, do not just go laughing everywhere. People may feel offended and fail to understand you. Do not inconvenience them or draw their attention unnecessarily especially when they are concentrating on certain tasks. Read the peoples' mood and know the situation they are in, before you laugh. When you are alone, your laughter can take about one to two minutes! Interestingly enough, laughing for just such a short period of time is a rare thing to do, for many people. A laughter of about one minute when you are in the company of other people can be sufficient. A prolonged laughter taking three to five minutes may arouse concern or cause an offense to the other people. Your prolonged laughter may be misinterpreted to mean folly or lunacy. You can laugh at a past sweet or funny reminiscence which occurred and amused you some time back when you were alone or with other people. You can also look at caricatures or cartoons in newspapers, journals and magazines. All these sources and others which have not been mentioned in this post, can be rich domains for your healthy laughter.
5. THE BENEFITS OF LAUGHTER
In a nutshell, we can now look at a few important benefits of
laughter;
1. It elongates your lifespan.
2. It creates a good rapport among your associates and contemporaries.
3. It is a source of humor and enthusiastic charisma.
4. It creates a jovial mood and elates social bond and warmth.
5. It gets rid of/expels stress which has been a big bother/slaying monster to many people these days, all over the world. Believe it or not, there are many people these days who spend their money and time, visiting their special doctors for health check ups, due to problems which have been mainly caused by lack of laughter, leading to stress and other body health complications. It is not bad to go for medical check up. However, as you go for your check up, check your personal laughter life and see how many times you have laughed for the last one week! Smiling alone is not enough. It may not help you much.
6. It is a psychological medicine/cure.
7. It creates an acceptable countenance, which portrays authentic glamour and thriftiness.
6. THE CONSCEQUENCES OF LACK OF LAUGHTER
1. Deprivation of tangible joy
2. Lack of peace of heart and mind 3. Psychological sickness/discomfort
4. Spiritual and physical degradation/decline.
5. Isolation, leading to loneliness.
6. Real or imaginary rejection by the people who are supposed to be close to you.
7. Lack of concentration at work.
8. Unwarranted anger spasms.
9. Reclusive lifestyle, leading to withdrawal from societal/ public gatherings.
10. Negative/suspicious perception from family members and other people in general.
7. CONCLUSION
The ball is in your court now. The buck stops with you. Create time to laugh and start laughing. Don't procrastinate. Program yourself to laugh at least once per day, for a minimum of thirty seconds!
You can contact me through;
Email:syomuti@gmail.com or jambsy@yahoo.com
Mobile:+254724649652 or +254718776259
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/jamesmbotela.syomuti.7 Twitter:https://twitter.com/jambsy@yahoo.com
Website:https://syomuti.com
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