With the Oregon primary's upon us- many of my fine compadres wonder who the best candidate is for the Democratic ticket.  The lawns in Portland are skattered with Clinton and Obama signs plastered between the roses and cherry trees in full bloom.  We all want to know who is going to save our forests from clear cutting, our rivers from more pollution, our taxes held to the point of tolerance.  But which of these people has a sense of humor?  Did any of them acknowledge that it was World Laughter Day last Sunday?  People in 32 countries around the world took time out of their days to laught for no reason! 

Laughter will help us tolerate the insanity of $3.75 for a Gallon of gas, and that we have no control over it.  Laughter helps us tolerate and learn to understand the generation mixes in our offices and in our businesses.  Why some people put us in the "to do" pile and some call us back within 48 hours.  Getting angry is just counterproductive.

Laughter will help us gain relief watching a loved one slowly die of cancer.  I wish it would cure cancer, but at least we have it as an aresenal of coping tools with yet another thing we have no control over.  Laughter releases endorphines in the body which can help relieve pain.  This is good to know for someone who is hurting.  Sharing laughter with family and friends is healing and bonding, and an alternative or compliment to crying for release.

Laughter is such an important part of stress relief, it can actually change your view of any situation in less than a minute!  Think about that.  If you are angry at someone, and you do a simple breathing and laughter exercise- you will not be angry at that person because while we are laughing it is impossible for us to get angry at the same time.  The laughter releases oxygen to our brain and it can change our perspective!

Finally, laughter is recession proof.  With fluctuating interest rates, gasoline, food, travel and housing prices, we are faced with challenges to roll with the economic changes continuously.  At the beginning, middle or end of our days; we are always left with laughter.   It's free and it's contagious.