Highly Contagious: Please Spread Freely

Photo on Unsplash by Amanda Sofia Pellenz

1/15/26

One of my dear friends has an uncanny knack for sending me comedy clips at exactly the moments I need them most. My sister does this too. And then there’s one of my neighbors—someone I walk with early in the morning once or twice a week. During these walk-and-talks, we sometimes share what’s currently challenging us in life… and more often than not, we end up laughing our asses off at how ridiculous the mind can be—making problems out of absolutely everything.

The mind is very good at that.

We laugh at ourselves, our quirks, our faults, our familiar patterns. And somehow, in that shared laughter, something loosens. Humor becomes medicine. These moments have a way of breaking through any crusty resistance I might be holding—softening what has become tight or overly serious.

I’ve spent a good portion of my life being a little too serious about… well, just about everything. Add regular doses of world events via the media, and seriousness can quickly harden into something heavy. Lately, I’ve been finding it essential—truly essential—for my sense of well-being to invite humor back in. Not as avoidance, but as relief. As perspective. As sanity.

According to an article titled “The Healing Power of Laughter in Uncertain Times,” laughter offers a surprising range of benefits, including:

• Stress relief

• Muscle relaxation

• Heart and circulation support

• Improved mood chemistry

• Social connection

• Greater resilience and coping

• Immune support

• Increased cognitive flexibility and creativity

  
  

Not bad for something so simple—and free.

Perhaps humor is one of the most benign—and powerful things we can spread. It doesn’t numb us; it softens us. It doesn’t bypass reality; it gives us room to breathe inside it. My wish is that it be wildly contagious this year—gently dismantling what’s rigid, loosening the grip of the overactive mind, and reminding us not to take ourselves quite so seriously.

After all, a good laugh doesn’t deny what’s hard—it simply makes it a little more bearable.

With a wink, a breath, and a smile.