What's that sound?

A friend texted me the other night. It was a silly thing. And I laughed out loud. My dog jumped and my bird flapped. I live alone. I talk to myself. I talk to God. I talk to my bird and dog. But I rarely laugh outloud alone. Not at movies, or books. When I am with other people, I laugh frequently.

Laughing AT people is not nearly as much fun as laughing WITH people. My humor used to be sarcastic but it missed the mark too often, it hurt feelings. I made adjustments to my humor. People who are self-assured enough to laugh at themselves are good folks to be around. A sense of humor comes in two forms: There are the people who recognize humor when they hear it. There are people who can create laughter to see and hear. We need both types in the world. There are a rare few who can do both.

I wish the disciples took better notes when Jesus laughed. Surely he did. He had serious work to do every day. He didn’t laugh AT anyone, but surely he laughed. I wonder what that sounded like.

I liked the sound of my laugh even when I hardly recognized it inside my house. I will laugh more, I think. It felt good.

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