PEACE OF LAUGHTER
Dear Friend in Peace,
My beloved mother was an inveterate joke teller. I marveled at her skill of being able to tell one joke after another delivering each with flair. She always had new material, told the jokes with a slight grin, and broke into a massive smile at the punchline. She clearly came to this Earth to laugh and spread laughter.
As an adult, I began to comprehend her profound commitment to laughter. It was an indispensable part of her desire for sanity, joy and peace.
She grew up on a remote farm in rural Indiana during the depression and "making do" was a way of life without electricity, indoor plumbing, modern conveniences or access to stores. World War II started when she was in high school. She was 18 when I was born. Up to that point, her life had not been filled with much to laugh about and that was her deep desire. She simply wanted to have fun, to be joyous and peaceful. She chose laughter as a means of dealing with the challenges of working sunup to sundown, turning distress into calm, and eventually into a more peaceful life.
Mother's response to challenges inspired me to look at others who are committed to smiling and laughter such as the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu. The lives of both these great souls have been and were filled with great trauma and challenges. Both great souls are/were committed to joy, laughter, and caring for others. Challenges abound for us at this time in our nation and world. Fortunately, we can use them as opportunities for us to choose what matters to us just as Mother, the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu did. As people of peace, we speak out for "Liberty and Justice for all," and we can choose laughter on our path to joy and peace knowing our laughter, joy and peace will spread to all we meet and beyond.
Photo from trailer for MISSION: JOY which is the official trailer for a documentary about the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu's friendship. The trailer refers to "Finding joy in turbulent times" which they did! They help us remember laughter changes everything and can bring us home to peace.
I chose this photo to go with Thomas Mann's beautiful words because the sun and its beams are mesmerizing. When I took this photo, I was laughing with joy and delight to experience such a peaceful and joyous blessing as this sight! May this joy and the laughter of Mother, the Dalai Lama, and Desmond Tutu guide us all home to the peace we came to be.
