Motivational Monday & PoP Midway Reminder: LAUGHTER

If you are new to my blog and would like to know why I started Motivational Monday, please go HERE.

This will be another packed post as I'll be sharing this month's Motivational Monday passage, a card I created and a couple freebies.  The reflection, my project and one of the freebies can also be found over on the midway post at the Path of Positivity.  This month the theme is LAUGHTER.  On with today's thoughts...  

The Importance of Laughter

From giggles to guffaws, there is nothing quite like the sound of laughter.  It is so common that we can forget how strange and important it is.  Can you imagine walking into a room of people who are laughing if you've never heard the sound of it before?  Or what if you didn't have emotions and got to experience laughter for the very first time?  I was watching an old rerun episode of Star Trek:  The Next Generation, late last night.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with the show, it was a popular science fiction show created by Gene Roddenberry back in the '80s.  One of the main characters on the program is an android named Data.  Data doesn't have any emotions, yet longs to be a human being; a little bit like Pinocchio.  In the episode I watched last night, Data risked his own existence to save an omnipotent being called Q.  In an act of uncharacteristic benevolence, Q imparted Data with the gift of experiencing true laughter for the very first time, as a way of saying thank you to the android.  It started out as a couple muffled giggles and turned into a series of full belly laughs.  When Data had finished laughing, he was asked by a fellow crewman to describe what it was like, Data replied, "It felt....wonderful."

Yes, wonderful is definitely one way to describe the experience of laughter.  Other descriptions include, freeing, amazing and liberating, just to name a few.  The great thing about laughter is that it crosses all genders, all ages, all nationalities, all religions, all cultures.  It helps us to make connections with others.  Laughter is a "social vocalization that binds people together. It is a hidden language that we all speak" (Robert Provine, 2000, para. 2).  It aids people in resolving their intentions within social interactions and for helping to provide an emotional context to their conversations. Laughter within a group can signal acceptance as it creates an opportunity to have positive interactions with others.  The more comfortable we are within a group, the more likely we are to open up and feel free to experience the joys of laughter. It brings us together in ways that other emotions can't.  Laughter can truly help to bond people and bridge cultures and divides.

If at all possible, each of should experience a daily dose of laughter.  Not only are there social benefits but there are psychological and physiological ones as well.  

On the physiological side of things, laughter can aid in the reduction of stress, is helpful for those coping with major illness, and studies indicate that it has even been known to boost our immune system, thereby helping us to ward off disease.  It can even benefit our cardiovascular system.  "Researchers estimate that laughing 100 times is equal to 10 minutes on the rowing machine or 15 minutes on an exercise bike" (Kim, 2003, para. 5).  Talk about an effective tool to help us take care of ourselves! 

From a psychological  standpoint, the benefits of humor and laughter are also quite incredible.  Many of us store negative emotions such as fear, sadness, anxiety, depression and anger for example.  We tend to stuff these lower frequency emotions deep down inside.  This of course can start to have a negative effect on our physical body by causing biochemical changes if we don't find healthy ways of expressing them.  While there are many ways to go about releasing these emotions, laughter can provide us with an effective and fun way to harmlessly do so.   Laughter is cathartic. It can help to purge the negativity and bring us back in balance.  In just moments, experiencing the wonderful joy of laughter, we can start the process of soothing our soul.

So, whether it is sharing a joke with a friend, watching a comedy on TV, or surrounding yourself with funny people, find ways to bring more humour and laughter into your life.  You'll benefit from it in ways you never thought possible.  Who knew a case of the giggles could be such an important aspect of everyday life!

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Next up, is the card I made for the midway...

FRONT

Digital Image Details: 

• Teddy #2:  This adorable image is from one of our guest sponsors for this month over on the PoP challenge, Limited Runs.  If you are interested in purchasing this cutie pie, click on the watermark to head over to the page it can be found on in the store.

 (Category:  Furry Critters, Section: 31-40)

Embellishments:

• The flowers are from Forever in Time and were purchased at the Dollar Tree. 
  

INSIDE

OVERALL

Digital Sentiment Details: 

• Both of the sentiments I used were created by Paulette from Create with TLC.  I picked each up a while back as a freebie.  For more great freebies and inspiration be sure to click HERE to go to Paulette's blog and for more awesome sets for purchase, click HERE to go to the home page of the store.

Paper Products:

•  Card base: Michael's Recollection's Cardstock, white.
• The designer papers are from my scraps pile.

Challenges I am hoping to enter:  

• http://www.wordartwednesday.blogspot.ca/ (5E)-- Anything Goes 
• http://creativefingerschallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/ -- Anything Goes
• http://yourscrapbookplace.blogspot.ca/ -- Anything Goes
• http://ttcrd.blogspot.ca (2E)-- Anything Goes
• http://craftingfromtheheartchallengeblog.blogspot.ca/ -- Anything Goes
• http://blog.red-rubber-designs.com/ -- So Sentimental
• http://ikesworldchallengeblog.blogspot.ca --  Make Us Laugh

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Finally, that brings me to a couple of freebies.  The first was offered up at the challenge start and the second was just offered up today for the midway...

© 2015

Font Information:

• Dancing Script OT font created by Impallari Type
• Goulong font created by GemFonts

© 2015

Font Information:

• WLM Smileyface font created by WLM Fonts
• BlackJack font Created by Typadelic

Please be sure to click on the images to bring them up into the lightbox in their proper size before saving them.  Click on the font name to take you to a download location.  All these fonts were listed as free for commercial use at the time each of these project were made, and as such, it is my understanding, that I am within my rights to use these fonts in my creations and offer them to others.  Please refer to my full terms of service for what you can and cannot do with these digital creations.

These word art creations are in png format and published at 300 ppi. They are quite large in order to accommodate different programs that people work with.   If you are a card maker you can always resize them smaller without distorting the quality.  

Credit Notes For These Creations:
© Lisa L. Décosse. PUO. However, you are allowed to use the sentiments on handmade projects that you intend to sell on a small scale basis provided credit is given. You also need to include a credit note and a link to this blog should you use any of my images in your creations and post them on your blog. Please be sure to familiarize yourself with my full terms of use found in the 'Download Instructions & T.O.U.' tab at the top of this page. Of important note:  Please do not share my images with family, friends, etc. Additionally, do not post any images to file sharing services like Box®, 4-Shared®, etc. Instead, please direct people to my blog(s) so they can grab the image for themselves. If you would like to post a watermarked version of the image, please contact me to obtain one.

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I invite you to go and check out, not only, the fabulous creations some members of my Design Team had the opportunity to create over on the Path of Positivity (click HERE for the midway) but also some of the great entries into this month's challenge (click HERE for the challenge).  I also invite you to come over and enter a project yourself, if you haven't already.  This is the perfect month to be exploring the concept of faith.  I'm sure that you know someone who'd benefit from a reminder to keep on believing.

Well, that is it for today!  Have a great week ahead everyone!

Until next time,