Michael Anderson

Dear Friends,

Sometimes I’m trapped in a melancholy cage. Thank God, there’s an escape.

In today’s scripture, I’m twice directed to “Shout with joy!” (Psalm 98: 4, 7) And what is this joyful shouting if not laughter—big, happy laughter! 

Grammarians tell us that this verb “to shout” is in the imperative mood. Which means that God doesn’t merely suggest or request my laughter; he commands it. (The Psalms are full of such injunctions; see 32:11, 33:3, 47:1 and 66:1.)

Which reminds me of Laughing Yoga.

Several years ago at a monastery retreat, I chose to attend a session by that name. Now I am a Norseman, a full-blooded Scandinavian, and all my life I’ve drifted to the somber side, preferring hymns in a minor key. So when I saw Laughing Yoga, my first response was a sniff.

Thank God I dismissed the sniff and walked into that room where a dozen people, mostly grey-haired like me, sat in a circle.

When the instructor stood up, she was holding a big, white clock. She pointed to its red second hand and said, “Now get ready, because when it gets to the top, when it reaches the 12, we’re all going to start laughing. And not just little giggles—no, no, no, no, no—we’re going to guffaw! We’re going to stand up and, for one full minute, laugh our lungs out!”

Then she said, “Are you ready?”  We all nodded, eyeing the red second hand. 

And you know what? When it got to the top, I stood up and laughed. We all did. At first it was a bit forced, a bit robotic. But soon it was real—a real, spontaneous shouting for joy. And of course, it helped that this team of senior-citizens did it together: clapping, jumping up and down, slapping each other on the back. We looked ridiculous!

That day I learned a lesson: I am not the victim of my moods. No matter how I feel, no matter what’s weighing on my heart, no matter what gloom (real or imagined) clouds my Scandinavian mind, I can choose to be glad.

Of course, there are times of sadness, even deep grief, and then I know God holds me there. But when I’m moody, when I’m trapped in anger, resentment or self-pity (a cage of my own making) I can choose to go free. If I’m unwilling to laugh, I can start by curling my lips into a smile. Or reciting Psalm 98. Or putting on a little Baroque music.

With all the sadness in our world, I’m glad that joy is a choice. And that God, who is both the object and source of that joy, commands me to be happy.

—Michael Anderson