lyric snippet

[quesarah]

I've been listening to Kate Bush's album The Red Shoes this weekend and there's a snippet of lyric that's stuck in my head.

Have you ever seen a picture of Jesus laughing?
Mmm, do you think he had a beautiful smile,
a smile that healed?

And I've gotten stuck on the notion of a smile that heals; of the healing power of laughter, of my friend's father who's recently been diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer but who's retained his sense of humor and vowed to fight; of the power of a loving smile to lift spirits and give hope. The little girl in my mind, the one who grew up going to Sunday school thinks about the image of a demigod sharing that healing smile with the people around him, using it to ease their pain and give them hope. Then the adult in my mind, the one who believes in the divinity and interconnectedness of all life imagines the good that we do and are capable of, simply by approaching other beings from a place of love and laughter.

That's hard to do; I'm struggling with it right now. But I know it's what I should strive for. I may never truly get there but like most things the journey is the destination.

Comments

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

Read the sermon on the mount, and imagine it done as a stand-up riff.

[juanitadark.livejournal.com]

It's very creepy you should say that seeing as I borrowed that album from the library on Saturday.

Happenstance!

[biogeekgrrl.livejournal.com]

A Roman, a Sadducee, and a Pharisee walk into a bar...

[biogeekgrrl.livejournal.com]

Oooh, it's been a time of wacky coincidence in my life. Better watch out!

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

Although by far and away the best gag in the whole damned bible is that immaculate conception lark.

[madenglishbloke.livejournal.com]

"what did he say??"
"he said 'blessed are the cheesemakers' "
"oh, thats nice - its about time they got something..."

alternatively, ive got billy connelly in my head at the moment doing his own version of it - dont think hes ever actually done it, i can just hear the snark...

[nightxade.livejournal.com]

Jesus smiles all the time. We just don't realize it's Him. :)

[nightxade.livejournal.com]

"what did he say??"
"he said 'blessed are the cheesemakers' "
"oh, thats nice - its about time they got something..."

*snicker*

[biogeekgrrl.livejournal.com]

That's lovely. :)

[kimberlychapman.livejournal.com]

Attitude and laughter have been shown, in small clinical trials, to actually have some effect on otherwise terminal patients.

I read a really nifty article while at University of Ottawa's med school library once (I didn't go there but I was at the library for some specific medical research for some project or other) about a man who was diagnosed with a usually-terminal bizarre wasting disease but decided to go out laughing, so he had a friend constantly bring him videos of Three Stooges and other silly comedies, and then he started to get better, so he decided to run with it and made laughter a full-time gig and ended up recovering from the disease, which isn't impossible but is rare.

And I've seen other references to tests where it works.

I know my mother had several articles referencing how various positive thinking can heal or at least prolong/ease the life of a terminal patient. She volunteered for a hospice and they were constantly finding little studies here and there about how much better folks do when they have a supportive community. Be it "the power of prayer" or just good non-religious company, it helps.

I hope it continues to be of help to your dad as well. :)

[biogeekgrrl.livejournal.com]

Thanks, I hope it helps my friend's dad too. :)