Where has the laughter gone?

I have a quote posted up on my wall –

 

“At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities.”

 

― Jean Houston

 

It is fitting that this quote is set against a background image of my hand, along with my friends, hands, foot and teeth. Everytime I glance at this, I am reminded of two things :

1. Just how essential and beautiful laughter is to our daily lives
2. Of how we made videos of cows with pillows and, laughing till our sides ached while trying to take this photo while singing Christmas Carols in May.

 

It all seems so distant now – the laughter, the tears in our eyes, and yes, even our lives. There’s a certain sense of camaraderie that we’ve built around us, that led to the most ridiculous discussions.

 

 

Just this morning, I noticed a long conversation between my brother and his good friends on facebook, which left me laughing out loud, given the story’s history and context. It got me thinking of the last time I had this genuine reaction of laughter. One that was just funny because of the experiences shared, that was not said in jest, and most importantly, one that was never carefully orchestrated. And truth be told, I cannot remember.

 

Is this adulting? How are you supposed to come to terms with the fact that there will probably never be weekends where you would just lounge around with your best friends, watching videos, making videos and just laughing? Where is the ache in my stomach from laughing too much that I cannot fully open my eyes? Where is all the laughter that breaks up my sentences into fragmented words that only makes sense to us? When can we work on art projects that are incredibly amazing as we laugh at our miserable skills?  Oh there are fragments of these experiences, a mere dim reflection of what it used to be – but will I ever get used to it? The pieces are scattered all over the world now, and there is just so much effort in trying to collect them all in the same place and time.

 

Cheers to the time with questionable water, the marraige predictions on the beach, running away from dogs and every other moment of madness between every morning’s “Hi!” and “I’m not submitting that assignment tomorrow, no one is.”

It is also quite fitting that spotify started playing “My Immortal” by Evanescence that was had elicited another video-making soiree.

 

I wish to be able to laugh, with the tears in my eyes and everything (like I used to).