“You grow up the day you have your first real laugh at yourself.”
One of the most popular identifications of how important laughter is to people in sobriety is that “laughter is the best medicine.” So many of us lived only on the dark side of life before becoming sober. We experienced healing when we were able to lighten up and laugh.
We often wanted to cry bitterly over what we had become. But we pretended to the world that everything was fine by laughing at everything, being sarcastic, and making a joke out of even the worst things we did. We were afraid that if we ever started to cry, we’d never stop.
In recovery, we find we don’t have to struggle to avoid shedding tears. Those tears come from humility, trust, joy, and faith. And we can laugh with gratitude over the changes we find in ourselves and in those we have come to love.
“I am no longer afraid to laugh or cry. I am able to accept myself as human.”