Laughter and Tears

A wise old man told a joke to a group of friends. Everyone laughed. After a moment, he told the same joke again. This time, only a few people laughed.

He repeated the same joke over and over again. When there was no more laughter, he asked, “You can’t laugh at the same joke over and over again, but why do you keep crying over the same things over and over again?”

When no one could answer, the old man explained: “When we hear a funny joke, laughter grabs a hold of us and moves through us.

After we laugh, the novelty of the joke wears off and we automatically let go and move on.

When faced with life’s sorrows and upsets, most of us do the exact opposite. We tend to hold on to the negativity – experiencing the same upsets over and over again.

The secret to a happy life is learning to experience your tears like laughter. Let your upsets move through you freely, and then let go and move on.