Coco Calling No.328: The Sound of Laughter & Long-Term Joy

I have a great many endearing qualities, (even if I do say so myself).  I’m cute, I’m cuddly, I enjoy my interaction with humans and I’m the first parrot to have published his own book. But my ‘party-piece,’ which always gets the strongest reaction, is when I mimic human laughter. Well, my owner calls it ‘my cackle,’ but what he hasn’t worked out yet is that I’m copying his laugh(!) And it’s more than a cackle. Sometimes I can do a sneaky laugh, -a snigger, -which sounds like I’m up to no good. And humans absolutely love it and begin laughing themselves. So, you could say that your favourite little bundle of feathers has the ability to change the mood in the room.

Laughter is a wonderful way of getting rid of any tension and releasing ‘happy hormones’ around the brain. But it’s usually short-lived, and so it tends to be a ‘short-term fix.’ In fact, in the vast expanse of time, nothing in this world lasts for very long. And while laughter is lovely in the short-term, it can’t be relied upon to sustain us. Nothing that we have here on Earth can sustain us for very long, which is why we should all be searching for that something which is beyond the limitations of our worldly existence. Humans are a contradiction; they keep making advances with their science and technology, but they seem to be going backwards when it comes to those most basic questions of all: “where have we come from?” and “where are we going?” Or, if you prefer, “where do our lives fit into the overall scheme of things?” Because it’s only when we ask these basic questions that we can begin to discover the whole world of Jesus, God and Heaven. And it’s only when we’ve discovered all three that we come to know pure, lasting joy, -or in other words, a laughter which endures for ever. And I’m sure that Heaven is full of the sound of happy parrot laughter!

“The person ‘… (or parrot) …. who can bring the spirit of laughter into a room is indeed blessed.”

(Bennett Cerf: [1898-1971]: American publisher, humourist, and co-founder of Random House publishers.)

“If the earth is fit for laughter, then surely Heaven is filled with it. Heaven is the birthplace of laughter.”

(Martin Luther: [1483-1546]: German priest and key figure in the Protestant Reformation.)

“…Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.”         

(Luke 6: 21b)