What makes you laugh? I thought about this the other day when someone left what I refer to as "love notes" on my voice mail at the office. With regularity people will call and leave a little message of inspiration, a saying or a poem, that they think I will enjoy. Am I blessed or what? Someone called to say she had read some words and she thought she’d pass them along: "Laughter is carbonated holiness." The writer was Anne Lamott, one of the funniest, most irreverent yet spiritually grounded and insightful writers I  know. I recommend her books Traveling Mercies and Plan B:Further Thoughts on Faith  as spiritual memoirs that will make you laugh and cry-sometimes at the same time. Her words always provide a unique perspective on the spiritual journey.

It is easy some days to go for long stretches without laughing. But laughing is an important exercise…perhaps even a spiritual practice. We should not neglect it. Dr. Dale Anderson, a local physician and speaker wrote a book called "Laugh…for the Health of It!" Laughing not only lifts our spirits but also makes a difference in our very chemical makeup. So, just as we make time for physical exercise, making time for laughter is an important component of our well  being.

Today I met with a group of clergy that I meet with once a month. We discuss books together, the church, our work, our families, theology, politics, world affairs. In some ways we are a very "serious" group doing "serious",important work. But one of things we also do is laugh….sometimes with our whole selves, toes to belly to head. We are laughing for the health of it and for the holiness that is sent among us.

The world is often a serious place. Life is often serious business. But every day needs a little laughter. Every body needs a little laughter. Every spirit needs a little laughter. Today. Tomorrow. And always.