Laughter

Knock Knock
Who's there?
Ears!
Ears who?
Ears some more knock knock jokes for you!

or how about;

Q: Why did the man put his money into the freezer?
A: He wanted cold, hard cash.

Okay, so maybe it didn't make you roll over with laughter, but there was a small smile within your grimace. And it did make you feel just a little better didn't it?

In fact, chances are it did make you feel a little better. In an article on HelpGuide.org with the help of Melinda Smith, M.A., Gina Kemp, M.A., and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D, "in addition to the domino effect of joy and amusement, laughter also triggers healthy physical changes in the body."

- Laughter relaxes the whole body. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.

- Laughter boosts the immune system. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.

- Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.

- Laughter protects the heart. Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.

There are studies performed by others. William Fry, M.D., professor of psychiatry at Stanford University Medical School and an expert on health and laughter, reports the average kindergarten student laughs 300 times a day. Yet, adults average just 17 laughs a day. Why the difference? Are we too uptight, too tense? Do we take life too seriously? Isn't it time we learned how to relax?

Are we too serious in life? I'm not here to say that we shouldn't be serious. But we should learn to lighten up a bit. The tension in our politics, in our jobs and flowing down into our family life is tremendous.

All of this tension can lead to an unhealthy heart condition according to Michael Miller, M.D., director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center.

So maybe we should laugh just a little more often each day. Maybe the laughter will be music from our heart. Just maybe a dumb joke will save your life.

Winter Coats

"This more than successful idea from New York agency JWT was made to promote their search for coats for the homeless during the freezing winter in New York. The idea was to paint a giant homeless person on a wall and place coat hooks on the upper half of his body. As people hang their donated coats on the hooks.” ~Osocio.org

The above picture and subsequent story surrounding it is pretty interesting. When you read the story, you will see a short statement that says, "The building managers were not happy. Memos were sent. Phone calls made. Much grumpiness ensued."

At this point you could stop and start to wonder why anyone would be upset about a project to collect winter coats for the homeless. "How dare they," one might say. You could even slide down to the comments section of the article and read people questioning it as well.

But the article does note right after the statement that one should "Read the whole story at Adverting/Design Goodness." Maybe in our hectic world of information overload, we just feel its too difficult to read the whole story. Maybe we are just too tired to dig a little deeper into what lay beneath the surface.

My point here isn't to debate the plight of homeless people. What I am here to say is that each of those homeless people are just that, people. Human beings, each with a story just like you have or I have.

There might be reasons for their condition beyond the thirty-second news story or television commercial view. Some may have placed themselves there by addiction, choice or self-decision. Others may have arrived by unfortunate job loss, loss of a spouse or other circumstance. But each has a story just beneath the surface of what you see.

Am I asking you to go out and question each homeless person about their life? Of course not. What I am asking you to do is not judge the surface of people. Do not think lowly of them only to try and lift yourself higher.

By digging a little deeper, you might find a story that could inspire you to do things better. You might find a story that opens your eyes in such a way to keep you from making the same mistakes. You might find a story that once told gives that person a new confidence in life.

You just might have placed a warm coat on that person which gives them another chance for a better life.

Find a winter coat drive near you. Its pretty darn easy to do, just use your favorite internet search engine such as Google or Bing and (in example) search for the words "winter coat donations atlanta". Or better yet, start your own winter coat or blanket drive. Find an organization to partner with and then go listen to the stories.

Maybe by digging a little deeper into the lives of others, you may find your own.

Keep The Wheel In Motion

"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." ~Walt Disney

Can you believe it, January is half over and the ringing of the new year bells are fading. The hangover has likely subsided and work or school returned to fill your days.

Resolutions made for the new year on December 31 are still fresh in your mind. You are probably still loyal to the promises made to yourself. Heading each morning or evening to the gym, working off those ten pounds. Maybe you are reading a new book and watching less television. One less beer or bowl of ice cream each day is still doable.

But will you keep moving forward with those resolutions as the year goes? Will you be true to yourself and make those changes promised?

It is easy at this point. Only half a month has transpired, barely a few breaths of the new year. Life hasn't come in quite yet and tried to interfere with your plans. But you know life will try to get in your way, life will try to throw you off course.

What I encourage you to do though is keep the wheel of your life moving. Keep pushing forward with your plans. You have started building momentum and the hills will approach. Momentum will get you over those times and with each success it gets easier.

You have an amazing year ahead of you, full of change, full of new adventure, full of greatness. Keep moving forward, keep the curiosity of your success pulling you to the next level. Pretty soon it will be December 31 and you'll be fondly thinking of a great year gone by. But you will also be jumping with excitement for what's to come next.

Dick Winters Brothers

"We are paratroopers Lieutenent; we are supposed to be surrounded." ~Dick Winters

If you have never heard of Dick Winters or the men he served with in World War II, then you should. January 2, 2011 is the day he passed at the age of 92.

The way he lived his life, the way he served his country, more importantly the way he served the men he fought with speaks volumes of the man. I would venture to say that Dick Winters would rather the attention be placed upon all of the men he served with.

He knew all too well that the life he lived was a life accomplished with his brothers. It was together that they accomplished and survived the war. It was together that that lived great lives well beyond that war. It is together they will have peace well beyond anything we can imagine.

There are very few words that I can say about this man or those he served with. All were heroes and all knew the spirit of brotherhood. For it is together that we can accomplish great things. It is together we stand when times are tough. It is together we stand when times are good.

I know that my brothers (siblings and friends) are there to my left and to my right. Should I need them to grab my arms to help me carry on, they will be there. The same can be said that I will be there to grab them when need arises.

Not to steal the pride of paratroopers, but in life you are surrounded. Surrounded by circumstance, surrounded by all of those things that life is going to throw at you. Realizing that "...we are supposed to be surrounded" and knowing that others stand beside you make the fight all that much more winnable.

Rest in peace Dick Winters, rest in peace my brothers; rest in the knowledge that each of you are heroes.