Just before my first meeting with the company chairman, his secretary leaned in and whispered, "A word of advice. If he smiles, you are in trouble."
Fifteen minutes later, I walked out. The secretary looked at me with a question in her eyes. I said, “No. He didn’t smile. But why that warning?”
She explained, ““His smile is proportional to the nonsense you speak, and rarely ends well.” I nodded, realizing a strange truth: not every smile is friendly.
Around the same time, I saw something very different. During my morning walk, a group of people in the park were standing in a circle, laughing loudly, waving their arms and shaking their bodies. It looked funny at first. Then someone invited me to join their "laughter club."
Click👇 for video & podcast versions in English & Malayalam
It was a delightful counterpoint. If you can’t laugh for real, fake it till you make it. 'Pretend laughter', many say, can loosen the tight knots inside you. It’s like stretching before a run or warming up for genuine joy.
Why do we laugh? It’s one of our most human magic tricks. Laughter releases stress like steam from a pressure cooker. We laugh at surprises, silly jokes, clumsy falls, or even a typo that changes the whole meaning. Most of all, we laugh to connect. A shared laughter is like a warm handshake of the heart.
There are many kinds: belly-shaking ones, nervous giggles, even those polite "office laughs" that sound like coughs in disguise. And while we try to control it, a truly funny moment will always escape, like a balloon slipping from your hand.
The benefits are remarkable. Laughter reduces worry, strengthens our immune system, and gives the heart a fun workout. But its best gift is bringing people together.
So next time joy feels far away, start with the sound. Fake it, force it, let it wobble out. You might just trick yourself into the real thing.
After all, laughter - genuine or borrowed - is life's cheapest, happiest medicine.
Share your thoughts below.
