Day 3: Chasing laughter

I was thinking about what makes me laugh when I woke up this morning, and that's what appeared on my journal pages today. I know I'm supposed to be writing about what's bugging me and the accompanying feelings associated with what's bugging me for this 30-day exercise, but at the moment I sat down to write, I wasn't feeling bugged. I was thinking about laughter.

Chasing laughter. It's what I do. It's how I connect with other people more often than not. It's how I learned to deal with difficult moments.

The picture above is a great example of that, and of someone understanding this need of mine. The BF above and I were having breakfast. He was late. I was stressed about waiting. He hadn't warned me that he'd be later than usual, and I could have made other plans. So I was kind of upset when he called. We agreed to meet at a cafe somewhere in the middle of our separate destinations to save time. I wasn't 100 percent happy about it. It doesn't matter why. It's just what it was.

So we arrive at around the same time, get a table and order. As we're sitting there eating our breakfast meal, which, by this time, had turned into lunch, he did something that surprised me. He stuck his orange slice in his mouth and smiled. He sat there staring at me, waiting for me to notice. When I finally did, I couldn't help but laugh at his spontaneity.This is not a guy who would generally do this. He can surprise you. And this time, his out-of-character silliness broke an awkward silence and reminded me what a good guy he is, despite his sometime tardiness and inconvenient scheduling that does seem to revolve around his life more often than mine (I confess total bias here. I'm allowed. It's my story.).

In my desire to elongate the moment, I told him not to move so I could take a picture. Then I told him to do it again so I could be sure I got a good picture. Good guy that he is, he complied with my requests, and I got this photo above. I've been thinking about how to use this photo for a few weeks now, and here it is. I get to share it with you. I get to share the laughter. Like I said, it's how I like to connect with people. Laughter, as you know, is good medicine for what ails you. So I may have been bugged at the moment when this silliness occurred. But I'm not bugged now. And I'm glad to have the photo to prove it.

Can you recall a recent moment of unexpected silliness that occurred in your life? What happened? Did it break an awkward silence? Did you laugh out loud? Tell us about it here.

Your everyday inspirations

Are you aware of your everyday inspirations? They don't necessarily call you to do anything specific. They are the everyday images, the textures, the colors or the sounds in your everyday life that just speak to you in some way. Perhaps they leave you with a good feeling, put a smile on your face, or remind you of someone or something.

I live in a neighborhood surrounded by palm trees of various kinds, big thorny mesquites, scattered palo verdes, jacarandas, and other trees that attract the birds. Hummingbirds, song birds, mockingbirds, finches, and birds I'd need to pull out the Audubon guide to name--they're all out there.

At night, you can even hear the owls and see the bats whirring by overhead. If I'm out for a walk in the early evening, the owl's call kind of spooks me. You never can tell which tree they're in, as the sound seems to echo from far away. I always imagine he'll fly out of one of those trees and wonk me on the head with his large talons.

I wake up in the morning and go to sleep to at night to many, long-lasting bird calls of various sounds. When I'm really listening, I can hear very specific sounds. One type of bird I noticed I'm not hearing this year had a unique call I really liked. It sounded like they were saying back and forth to each other: "Rick-ee! RickeeRickeeRickee!" It's funny what you miss when it's gone.

Is there a bird call unique to your neighborhood? Or one that you once noticed but now do not? Noticing the everyday things that surround you, such as the sound a bird makes, provides training ground for creating awareness within. It's about becoming aware of what you like or don't like, what matters to you and what does not, or what inspires you.

AWARENESS HOMEWORK: Make a list of 5-10 things in your everyday life that pleases you. The only requirement is that all items on the list must come from the natural environment. Post one or two of them here if you like. What this will do for you is bring your attention to that which brings you joy. Once you're aware of this, you begin to seek it out. A joy-filled life is one that overcomes obstacles with grace and ease, like the Great Blue Heron in my photograph above.