Laughter: One of Life’s Simplest Joys

If you asked me to name one of my favorite moments to savor, it would be laughter.

The kind that sneaks up on you.

The kind that starts with a smile, grows into a giggle, and before you know it, tears are streaming down your face and your stomach feels like it just finished the best workout.

Those are the moments I never want to rush through.

What I love most about laughter is that it rarely asks for much. It doesn't need a grand occasion or a perfectly planned day. More often than not, it finds us in the ordinary.

A funny comic in the Sunday paper.

A favorite comedy you've watched a dozen times but still laugh at every single joke.

A silly family story that somehow gets funnier with each retelling.

Or that wonderful moment when someone else's laugh is so genuine and contagious that you can't help but join in—even if you have no idea what started it.

Laughter has a way of connecting us. It reminds us to loosen our grip on perfection, to let our guard down, and to simply enjoy being together.

I've learned that some of the happiest memories aren't built around what we were doing.

They're built around who we were laughing with.

One of those memories takes me back to a season I never would have chosen.

After my first breast cancer surgery, my sister came to stay with me while I recovered. Those days held uncertainty, discomfort, and more emotions than I could count. Yet somehow, tucked inside that difficult season, we found laughter.

Not because everything was okay.

But because we needed a little light in the middle of the heaviness.

We laughed at the little things. At silly comments. At the absurd moments that only seem to happen when life feels upside down. We found reasons to smile even when we didn't feel like smiling.

Looking back, I realize those moments weren't distractions from healing.

They were part of the healing.

Laughter reminded me that joy and hardship can exist in the very same season.

That hope doesn't always arrive with fanfare. Sometimes it shows up as an unexpected giggle across the room or a shared joke that helps you forget, if only for a moment, what you're carrying.

Maybe that's one of the reasons laughter feels so sacred to me.

It asks us to be fully present.

You can't laugh yesterday's laugh or save today's laughter for tomorrow. It exists only in the moment, inviting us to pause and simply enjoy it while it lasts.

In a world that often feels rushed, serious, and filled with endless to-do lists, laughter gently reminds us that life is meant to be lived—not just managed.

So watch the funny movie.

Call the friend who always makes you laugh.

Share the silly memory around the dinner table one more time.

Laugh until your cheeks hurt.

Laugh until tears fill your eyes.

Laugh because the moment is worth celebrating, even if nothing extraordinary happened that day.

A Moment to Savor

One of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves is permission to find joy in the smallest places.

Sometimes that joy looks like a garden in bloom.

Sometimes it's the first dessert made from fresh berries.

And sometimes it's simply laughing so hard you forget everything else for a little while.

Those are the moments I want to hold onto.

Because I've learned that a life well lived isn't measured only by the milestones.

It's also measured by the laughter that carried us through every season in between.

Angeline