the Land of Joy and Sorrow: One of Life's Small Magics.

Small magic comes in all shapes, forms and colors. It nests in our minds and our bellies. Hovers at our lips, curls up on our tongue, whispers against our ears, sparkles in our eyes. Our lives brim with various oddly-shaped, sized and scented magics and all we have to do is take a moment to revel in their glow. Laughter is one of these magics. My absolute favorite. Take a moment. Or two. Start small -- smile. Let your smile push its way up your cheeks, nestle in your chest, tickle your ribs, teasing out those first tentative wisps of giggles. Let their chime rattle your belly, shake your shoulders, send your body a-tremor. Feel the joy bloom at your center, warm and tingling, starbursting up to the crown of your head, down to your tippy toes, building like a held breath. Throw back your head. Laugh. It's so, so easy.

I love laughing. Everything about it. The feel of it, the sound, the lightness. It is the bubbling of the soul, a festival of senses, the voice of one's heart soaring. Laughter smooths our aches and hurts, alleviates the sorrow of our disappointments, lifts the oppressing burden of grief and fear, eases our memories, takes the edge of those sharp experiences that diminish, wound or terrify us. Laughter gives us the wings to raise above the gravity of existence. It breaks the scabs of our hurts open allowing the pain to escape and the healing to begin. What's more, the mere act of laughing opens up your mind to happiness, rewires your emotions. (It actually affects you brain's serotonin levels in a positive way, making you feel good.) An illusion that becomes a reality. A true magic.

Decades ago, I read somewhere that it takes twice as many facial muscles to cry than to laugh or smile. How wonderful is that? Imagine all the wrinkles we're not going to get if all we do is laugh, the only creases in our skin worn by grins, while are souls remain crisp and unrumpled as freshly ironed linens. And even if it's untrue and smiling does line one's face, I'd prefer that all my wrinkles stem from laughter rather than from the frowns or lips twisted in disdain. Joy wrinkles I can live with. Joy wrinkles I can appreciate. Did I mention that laughter makes you loose weight? Well, it does! As you let out your most guttural, gut busting laugh, your abdominal muscles contract, burning calories. So much better than doing sit-ups.

And if we have someone in our lives to share in the laughter, someone who tugs our grins wider, who kindles our snorts into full-fledged cackles, who makes us chortle, titter, giggle or chuckle, we must treasure and cherish that person or creature for a miracle that they are.