Laugh It Off!

After my accident, I learned one of the hardest lessons of my life. It wasn’t a new lesson, just one I failed to remember from my childhood. But this time, God had my full attention.

One morning I woke up and needed to use the bathroom, my friends told me to use the bedpan, but I was determined to be a man and use the restroom in my hospital room. They called the nurse in and I lied about my ability to walk.

After helping me put my slippers on, she carefully guided me to the bathroom door. That alone was an accomplishment for someone who had been confined to a bed for almost a month. Everything was fine until I leaned forward to reach the toilet paper.

I lost my balance and did a bellyflop onto the floor. Moments later the nurse came to check on me. She couldn’t help me up and called for help after tripping over my feet. When the male nurse finally got me back into my bed, I could hear my friends and the young woman I had been dating outside in the hall laughing.

They didn’t realize I was so embarrassed that I wanted to kill myself. It was one of the most depressing times of my life; my dreams of being a writer were crushed. How could I write missing 30% of my brain?

If I couldn’t perform normal functions, my life was over.  But then I remembered something my father told me when I was learning how to ride a bike. “Everyone falls at first. If you laugh, you’ll feel better.”

And that’s what I did, I thought about how funny it must have looked for me to be lying face down on the floor with my hospital gown around my legs and an elderly nurse lying on top of me. During those days when I was confined to my bed, I realized a lot.

• Nobody’s perfect.
• We all fall down in life.
• We all make mistakes.
• We all need help at some point.
• Learn to accept the truth.
• And most importantly, learn to laugh at yourself.

Laugh it off!

When I was learning how to roller skate with my older sister, I kept falling down and scraping my knees. I would just laugh hysterically.

Soon laughing became my answer for everything: falling out of a tree—I just laughed, accidentally setting firecrackers off in my hand—ha-ha.

We’ve all heard the old saying that laughter is the best medicine, there is more truth to that many of us may realize.

1. In the brain, laughter can regulate dopamine levels and this hormone regulates a lot: mood, motivation, attention, and learning.[i]
2. Laughter stimulates your organs by increasing intake of oxygen-rich air which stimulates our hearts, lungs, and muscles. As well as increasing endorphins released by our brains.[ii]
3. Laughter activates and relieves stress response.[iii]
4. Soothes tension.[iv]
5. Improves your immune system.[v]

Keep these in mind as you write. We’ve all worked hard on writing the perfect prose for our readers, only to find errors when proofreading.

Even the latest writing programs don’t catch all errors. I can’t tell you how many times in writing my columns for this website that I proofread and run my articles through my writing software, only to find more mistakes after submitting them. And yes, there have been times I’ve seen my articles posted and still found errors.

I guess editors are human also. Earlier this year I was reading the latest book from one of my favorite authors and I began to find errors and typos in a book that had been published for almost a half year.

Even as I write this article, I chuckle to myself, because you don’t have to be legally blind or disabled like myself to make the silliest errors.

The more I spend time pursuing a writing career, the more I find myself laughing at myself on the journey. Thankfully, I’ve also learned to show myself grace.

But I’m more thankful for the grace given to me by the writers I work with; to the managing editor of Almost an Author, thank you for the grace and kindness you’ve shown me. I speak for all of us when I say; I hate to see you go.

Let It Go?

Another lesson I’ve learned over the last two decades living with a disability is learning to let go of my mistakes and shortcomings. I can stress myself out to the point of having a seizure if I worry about every mistake.

The best way for me to do this is to be humble. I’m not saying belittle ourselves, but to not think more about ourselves then we ought to. We’re still human and humans make mistakes. Humility is not fun or funny, it helps us in many ways.

• To focus
• Be grounded
• Understand what we have and how to use it.
• Know things will get better.

All those years ago I wanted to die when I was lying on the bathroom floor. But now all these years later I can look back and just laugh it off!

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at Spiritual Perspectives of Da Single Guy and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.

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[i]  Healthfully: https://healthfully.com/170399-effects-of-laughter-on-the-human-brain.html

[ii] https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456

[iii] https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456

[iv] https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456

[v] https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456