Keep that grin on your chin and you’ll be right mate.
Said to me the other day by an old timer who, passing by, has seen a thing or two in a long life.
Keep smiling - I think my Dad said that on many an occasion.
Laugh and the world laughs with you.
Cry and you cry alone - well that’s an old one.
Great smile on your dial.
In a while crocodile.
Fun, good humour, kills the tumour,
Beats any rumour.
Love and laughter - it’s the best medicine.
Despite the odds, the challenges and the stress
And sometimes the pain.
Go forward, onwards and forever upwards.
The stars await.
(From 'Storm Clouds & Silver Linings; My Journey' by Tom Stodulka)
Life has many challenges for most people. It can be happy, sad or in between. It is not always easy to be able to focus on the positive, when you have a bad day. You may have been bullied at work or if you are a student at school or university or college. You may have lost your phone or mislaid your keys. A family member or a dear friend may be very ill or you have come down with a bad cold.
There is often no simple solution in sight. You may be sorely tested and need every bit of resilience you can muster. It is not always easy to manage a difficult situation on your own. You may need to rely on a good friend or partner to share the situation with which you have been confronted.
How easy can it be to laugh at such a difficult time? Not at all easy, but sometimes there will be nothing else that might help, except to share a joke or being cheered up by a friend over a coffee or even a warm friendly text. Sometimes it might just help to recognise that there are many worse off than you. I am sure we have all felt that from time to time.
There is good reason why they use clowns to cheer up sick children. Love and laughter-they can sometimes be the best medicine.
Tom