Chapter 4 The Magic of Songs and Laughter.
Happy faces are outward reflections of inner beauty and a lovely soul. The smile and laughter of acquaintances remain delightfully in our memory, even those of passing strangers linger on pleasantly, and we tend to recall them. Notice how often leaders and successful people smile or chuckle. For those sullen and graven faces, we would never give them a second thought or look. They attract no one, no luck or fortune. Life is really like a mirror, we get the best results and feed-backs when we smile and laugh often. Laughter is a right and almost a duty, it brings happiness to ourselves and others, providing the zest for living, and we will never lack friends. Why should we deny ourselves infectious jokes, healthy fun and joy?
Furthermore, there is much wealth, health, and happiness in songs and laughter! You could make a lot of money for making people laugh. Some of the best-paid people in show business are comedians and hosts of TV shows. Look at Mr Bean, Cosby, the 2 Ronnies, Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryer, Whoopi Goldberg, Dudley Moore and Johnny Carson, they have made bundles between themselves. If they had been solemn aircraft engineers or chess-players, I doubt they would have been that successful. The songwriters and singers may be even better off. Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Elton John and Michael Jackson have also grossed several billion U.S. dollars.
Besides wealth, it is beyond a shadow of doubt that laughter is excellent for health too. Readers Digest, probably the largest circulating magazine in the world, always has a page entitled: „Laughter the best medicine. Even from a technical or medical point of view, laughter is all goodness. It increases the intake of fresh oxygen, the flow of blood to the brain, and stimulates the neurotransmitters. Above all, it tells your subconscious that you are relieved, carefree and happy. Experts maintain that your emotions are shown on your face, and in return your face affects your feelings. It is reciprocal. After exhaustive research, psychologists found that the extroverts, who spend much time mixing, talking, and laughing with people are the happier lot. They observed that if we laugh often, we never need suffer any stress, depression or nervous breakdown. The mentally-ills seldom laugh; if more people could indulge in songs and laughter, I think many of our mental hospitals would be half empty!
That reminds me of a man called Norman Cousins. Years ago, he was diagnosed by his doctors as terminally ill and was given 6 months to live. Later, he recalled in his book Anatomy of An Illness how he amassed and enjoyed all the jokes, funny stories and movies, and soon found that minutes of laughter could relieve his physical pain for hours! Guess what happened eventually? He recovered from his illness, and is now alive and well! The late Sir Thomas Lipton, had hundreds of retail shops in England, and many of his outlets had 2 mirrors. The entrance mirror reflected skinny hungry shoppers; the departure mirrors were also bent, to show fat, contented customers, roaring with laughter. Naturally, his company attracted great business.
If you do not feel like laughing, just laugh anyway, it will catch on. Otherwise, go into the bathroom and look in the mirror and pull your mouth toward your ears, you will laugh for sure! Some sickness may be contagious, but not as contagious as the cure: Laughter.
Let us thank almighty God for all the humour and music around us. Personally, life will never be the same for me and I believe that the world will never be the same, after the arrival of Beethoven, Mozart, Strauss, Bach, Debussy, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn and Gershwin; and in the popular arena, after The Sound of Music, Elvis, Cliff Richard, Neil Sedaka, The Beach Boys, Bread, The Stylistics, Simon and Garfunkel, The Beatles, The Seekers, Bee Gees, Carpenters, John Denver, Lionel Richie, Diana Ross, Carole King, Abba, America, Olivia Newton-John, Elton John, Gloria Estefan, Richard Marx and Clayderman. They have enriched our lives tremendously.
Even the natural world is teeming with sweetness and harmony, we need them all. Listen to the melodies of birds and insects, and beautiful human voices, aided by the enchanting harp, flute, guitar, piano and the lovely, swaying undulation of pipe-organs and orchestras. From now on, pamper and fill your ears and mind as never before, and savour a more fulfilling life. Even an unborn baby is comforted by the sound of the mothers heart-beat, and even our body is composed of rhythm (as in heartbeats), tone, rest, and vibration! John Logan stipulated, „Music is the medicine of the mind. Music, like our subconscious mind, is a very mysterious thing. Its magical effects are imperceptible on the surface, but it sure runs deep. May your life be blessed with jest and jazz, with laughter and beautiful melodies.
"We need more laughter and songs, to advance us along. Less idling and more do, to help us through." - Author.
"The man that hath no music in himself, nor is not mov'd with concord of sweet sounds, is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils." - Shakespeare.
"There is very little success where there is little laughter. The workman who rejoices in his work and laughs away its discomforts is the man sure to rise." Andrew Carnegie.
"Life was given us to enjoy,... there is youthful magic in laughter." - Ken Roberts.
"Rhythm, again was given us from the same heavenly source to help us in the same way; for most of us lack measure or grace." - Plato.
"Music, as they say, is the basis of agreement among things in nature... It brings together and unites." - Plato.
"Laugh and the world laughs with you..." - E. W. Wilcox.
"Thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing. Thanks for all the joy they're bringing. Who can live without it? I ask in all honesty, what would life be without a song or dance, what are we?" - from one of the songs by ABBA, the Swedish pop group.