A Great Soul Knows How to Laugh

Forget the soap or disinfectant. If you really want to feel clean, just laugh for a while. Of course, that can be hard to do. I'm not talking about fake laughter or a good chuckle here and there. I'm talking about a good hearty belly laugh that you can't control and just comes out of you because the subject is genuinely funny.
Over the last week I've had two occasions to just sit back and laugh. Joanie and I traveled to Fresno to preside over the wedding of a friend. Upon our arrival on Friday night, we got together with some good friends (Demos and Carolyn). In turn, we went out to dinner with some other friends (Bill and Marjory and Patti) and then went back to Demos and Carolyn's for some fellowship after dinner. Now, Demos is an incredibly wise and insightful man. He is also a hoot. He is one of the funniest men I have ever met. His wit and sense of sarcasm are nearly perfect. He makes me laugh. And on Friday night, he was at his best. We laughed for about 2 hours straight. We laughed so much and so long that we all lost track of time. By the time it was over (approaching midnight) we were all hurting from laughing so much. But, it felt clean. It cleanses the spirit. I felt refreshed for the weekend.
Last night I got a call from my son, Joel. Joel calls most weekday nights around midnight for the two of us to talk as he drives the 45 minutes or so home from work. He is usually tired, it is 2am his time (midnight here), and he is grateful for the company on the way home. I love to talk to my son and this gives us both an excuse to do so. There are times I am too tired to be of much company (I've fallen asleep on him a time or two) and there are other times I'm not much company, but then there are times when we do talk at some length and talk about some serious stuff. Last night, we laughed.
I got out an old Isaac Asimov trivia book we used to use on trips and started asking Joel some trivia questions on movies. He is an ace at this with his theater background. However, the trivia book is somewhat dated and the trivia often includes obscure old films that hardly anybody knows. Last night it just got to be so very funny. Joel has one of the sharpest wits I know of anywhere. He is enormously funny when he wants to be or the occasion calls for it. Last night his wit was right on and I started laughing so much I woke Joanie up on more than one extended and hearty laugh out loud stretch. And when it was over, I laid down and went to sleep. Now, it's been a long week and I have not gotten much rest. I toss and turn enough as it is and rarely sleep well through the night. Last night I slept through the night and through the morning. I slept as well as I have for a long time. It was restful and relaxing. All because I spent time laughing with Joel and being cleansed of spirit by it.
People who are depressed find little if anything to laugh about. I think they get the drain in their souls stopped up and all the junk of life backs up on them and they feel even worse. Laughter snakes the soul's drain and allows the junk to flow out. In the end you feel cleaner and more refreshed. I think Jesus had a great sense of humor. I don't know that he told jokes a lot but I think he knew joy in a greater way than we usually imagine. I think he had the kind of wit that Demos and Joel posses. I think he had some times when he didn't have to go off by himself to be refreshed. I think there were times he just hung around the campfire with the twelve and laughed. He had a great soul, you know. And great souls know how to laugh.