Laughter and Happiness
By Himanshi Gupta Monday, Sep 07, 2020
We have blurred the line between laughter and happiness. It is as though we have forgotten that happiness is a core emotion and laughter is just an expression.
In today's world where laughter has become commonplace, happiness remains a luxury.
Laughter is obtainable even while scrolling through your feed and finding a very relatable meme or when someone accidentally unmutes themselves and says something embarrassing in an online class. Happiness however is unique; it’s found in the most unexpected times. A smile from your grandparent, a group hug with your family, a genuine word of praise or a beautiful line from a heartwarming novel are enough to flicker feelings of happiness.
I believe that even if I laugh for 80% of my day, I am probably only be happy for 2% of it or less.
It is so much rarer because of our mud filled minds that refuse to live in one frame and instead yearn to explore many parallel universes at the same time. When a person is so caught up in their own thoughts, they cease to enjoy the moment, they are barely ever fully happy.
A notable difference is that laughter
can be at the expense of another but happiness can never be at another's expense.
We are not necessarily happy when we laugh, neither do we need to laugh when we are happy. As absurd as it sounds you can even cry when you are happy and I am not talking about tears of happiness, I am talking about tears of realisation or of having relieved yourself of a great weight.
It is vital therefore that we understand that there is no thin line between laughter and happiness there is a wall.
-by Himanshi Gupta F-444,
