Some people have a genius for seeing the funny side of so-called
“misfortunes,” like the Chinaman who could not control his laughter,
just before his execution, because they were going to hang the wrong
man. In a little booklet called “Fifty Years not Old,” I wrote:--
“_Laughing is a capital relief for unpleasant mental states, as well
as fine exercise for the stomach and liver! Democritus, the laughing
and smiling philosopher, may have carried his excellent principle
to excess; but he was a safer guide than the weeping and moaning
philosopher._
“_It is worth while to collect cartoons and cuttings from the ‘Daily
Mirror,’ ‘Punch,’ and other papers, and to look through them when the
dumps try to dominate._”
Laughing and smiling can come under muscular control, no less than
walking and sitting--no less than frowning and grumbling. We can tense
or relax muscles. We can equally easily laugh or smile. And the mere
muscular action will help the mind and the feelings to be free from
non-happiness.
There are, of course, wrong kinds of laughter and smiling. I read a
book devoted almost entirely to the abuse of laughter and smiling. But
the right kinds are as valuable as they are rare.
Several people that I know have the supreme art of making troubles
almost blessings by catching at once the ludicrous aspect--going round
to the other side and seeing things from a different approach. And
sometimes, entering into the trouble by the Gate of Humour, they find
that the trouble is not a torture-chamber but a factory of Success and
Happiness.
The right laugh and smile is an expression of real Faith; and, as
we have seen, the expression, if persevered in, tends to bring the
reality.