"There's nothing more contagious than the laughter of young children; it doesn't even have to matter what they're laughing about."
Criss Jami
I can remember stumbling across this Criss Jami quote a while back, playing around online with the intent of researching laughter. As the father of a 2-year-old (2 1/2 to be exact, I suppose) it hit home immediately.
Too often a child’s laughter leads to chuckling from those around them, despite not knowing where the original laughter stemmed. Lincoln and I have “laughing contests” quite often, seeing who can make the other break out in a hearty laugh first.
Knowing the effects of laughter — increasing endorphins, decreasing stress, working out the abs, shoulders and heart — when good friend and fellow professional Garrett from Floating Leaf Studios reached out with the idea of his Laughter Project, I was immediately on board.
His vision? A light, background, child and a fart noise machine to get those teeth showing, leading to multiple black and white canvas photos hanging at St. Peter’s Hospital in the Cancer Treatment Center and oncology floor. I can only imagine the smiles, and hopefully chuckles, on the patients’ faces as they gaze from photo to photo.
Some of you may recognize Lincoln as the subject in one of those photos, and many of the others are also children of the nurses of the CTC. That’s what truly makes the project special — those patients can connect with their nurses through the laughter of their children.
Make sure to check out Garrett’s Facebook post regarding the subject, and also give a look at his limited edition sessions — which include a laughter session next week.