How many times in our lives are we unaware of our surroundings? I know that I often get lost in deep thought or pure boredom during long drives or occasional lectures only to return and humiliate myself by saying things like, “pigmentation causes skin change” during a burn care lecture (clearly not the answer my professor was looking for) or to convince myself that I am lost because I don’t recognize anything around me and I can’t remember the last time I saw Interstate sign. As much as I wish I could rid myself of this, I know that not every lecture topic will hold my interest and that driving a car with no radio ultimately leads to a depleted attention span. But this got the spark plugs of my brain to trigger a thought: How many times am I guilty of ignoring important aspects of my surroundings? As I left my house today, I made a pact to myself (In my opinion, the best kind of pact because no one else knows if you stuck to it) to be aware of my surroundings and notice what I am guilty of taking for granted or fail to see the significance of on a daily basis. Twenty seconds into my pact, my brain is already thinking, “did I remember to unplug my flat iron?” when it should have been thinking today is trash day so watch out for the trash cans at the top of the stairs. After I manage to knock over a trash bag, spill my coffee, and drop my keys; I laugh. And that my friends is how the decision to be aware of laughter today began. Fortunately, for me I share a brain with my best friend Amy and the axons and dendrites that keep our brain together consist of only laughter. Our typical days at the HSC don’t usually begin with laughter but our days are most definitely sustained with laughter. To some our laughter is contagious and to some it isn’t appreciated or understood. For example, as we were buying coffee this morning the barista kindly said, “two dollars” to which I replied do you take PALS cards. She looked at it and responded with this is a PETCO card. I knew it was a PETCO rewards card and my intention was never to use it at the HSC café but instead to generate laughter from the barista, the line forming behind us and Amy. The line of tired college students were annoyed, the woman behind the counter was somewhat confused but managed a grin, and Amy and I were…laughing. As the other half of my brain and I sat outside and drank our coffee (an unplanned delight since we both showed up for class at the wrong time) we were thankful to enjoy the peacefulness that 8:00 brought with it and laughed relentlessly. An already long day, made longer by coming to school an hour earlier by mistake, was made better by a morning coffee break filled with laughter. I continued to be aware of laughter for the remainder of the day but not just my own. I paid close attention to which of my classmates chose laughter during our breaks from our 4 hour lecture instead of gloom. I noticed how laughter changed the demeanor and mannerisms of complete strangers taking a cigarette break outside of the HSC. I got a glimpse of a mother laughing at her daughter who was talking to her stuffed dog. And sadly enough I watched how people had on their blinders and were unaware of all the laughter and joy that surrounded them. After a day of persistent observation, I was amazed at how laughter made friendships stronger, days brighter, and life seem somewhat better. If we are unaware of laughter, what else are we missing out on? I couldn’t help but be drawn to the fact that every day we are all surrounded by the presence of God. Whether it is protection that gets us to work/school safely, his beauty that yields a breathtaking sunset, his mercy that sends a friend when we’ve had a bad day, his strength that allows us to take on all of our life roles, or his favor that gets us out of a parking/speeding ticket which we deserved (yes, I have experienced this favor numerous times), we are surrounded by God's pressence and blessed by His love. I challenge you to ask yourself are you aware of not only the laughter in your life but the presence of God? And if you are aware, are you amazed at the beauty and benefit of laughter and more importantly are you amazed at the depths of God’s love? Today, I kept my pact and as a result I was happy because laughter put a smile on my face and God put a smile in my heart.
Verse to remember: Psalm 89:15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your pressence, O Lord.
Lovely!
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