“What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul.” ~ Yiddish Proverb

I have the good fortune to put my sons to bed most nights and I have to admit that it takes everything in me not to get them amped up when they make me laugh. Four and five year olds are funny! As a father I am always on the lookout for opportunities to develop my sons young minds, and one of my favorite approaches is through the use of humor.

Humor is a powerful form of expression. Used properly, it serves many purposes. Humor can free the mind of tension, uplift a saddened heart, bolster a flagging spirit and bring perspective in ways that serious discourse cannot. There have been a number of times in my life where a friend lightened my mood by clowning around, telling a joke or bringing back fond and funny memories and vice versa. Humor and the laughter that ensues are powerful medicine.

Laughter also distances us from life’s challenging experiences. Humor, rightly timed, helps us to step back from that which looms large in our minds and hearts, get perspective on the matter and move on. If you can be buried under the weight of the difficulties in your life, you will be. If, however, you open yourself to the currents of inspiration that flow naturally from a humorous friend, you will rise up.

My sons are particularly fond of funny word games, plays on words and rhyming yet nonsensical word substitutions. If you develop a love for language in children, they will be set to learn for life. You can greatly expand your understanding of language by learning the subtle nuances of language-based humor. Learn language, especially its underlying grammar, and you then have the building blocks in your vocabulary to learn anything else you set your mind and heart to learn.

Life is a serious matter, but be too serious and life will slip through your fingertips before long.

“With the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die.” ~ Abraham Lincoln