Many years ago, Norman Cousins was diagnosed as 
   "terminally ill." He was given six months to live. His 
   chance for recovery was one in 500.
        He could see the worry, depression and anger in his 
   life contributed to, and perhaps helped cause, his disease. 
   He wondered, "If illness can be caused by negativity, can 
   wellness be created by positivity?"
        He decided to make an experiment of himself. Laughter 
   was one of the most positive activities he knew. He rented 
   all the funny movies he could find - Keaton, Chaplin, 
   Fields, the Marx Brothers. (This was before VCRs, so he had 
   to rent the actual films.) He read funny stories. He asked 
   his friends to call him whenever they said, heard or did 
   something funny.
        His pain was so great he could not sleep. Laughing for 
   10 solid minutes, he found, relieved the pain for several 
   hours so he could sleep.
        He fully recovered from his illness and lived another 
   20 happy, healthy and productive years. (His journey is 
   detailed in his book, Anatomy of an Illness.) He credits 
   visualization, the love of his family and friends, and 
   laughter for his recovery.
        Some people think laughter is a waste of time. It is a 
   luxury, they say, a frivolity, something to indulge in only 
   every so often.
        Nothing could be further from the truth. Laughter is 
   essential to our equilibrium, to our well-being, to our 
   aliveness. If we're not well, laughter helps us get well; if 
   we are well, laughter helps us stay that way.
        Since Cousins' ground-breaking subjective work, 
   scientific studies have shown that laughter has a curative 
   effect on the body, the mind and the emotions.
        So, if you like laughter, consider it sound medical 
   advice to indulge in it as often as you can. If you don't 
   like laughter, then take your medicine - laugh anyway.
        Use whatever makes you laugh - movies, sitcoms, Monty 
   Python, records, books, New Yorker cartoons, jokes, friends.
        Give yourself permission to laugh - long and loud and 
   out loud - whenever anything strikes you as funny. The 
   people around you may think you're strange, but sooner or 
   later they'll join in even if they don't know what you're 
   laughing about.
        Some diseases may be contagious, but none is as 
   contagious as the cure. . . laughter.

        During Napoleon's invasion of Russia, his troops were 
   battling in the middle of yet another small town in that 
   endless wintry land, when he was accidentally separated from his men. A group of Russian Cossacks spotted him and began chasing him through the twisting streets. Napoleon ran for his life and ducked into a little furrier's shop on a side  alley. As Napoleon entered the shop, gasping for breath, he 
   saw the furrier and cried piteously, "Save me, save me! 
   Where can I hide?" The furrier said, "Quick, under this big pile of furs in the corner," and he covered Napoleon up with many furs.
        No sooner had he finished than the Russian Cossacks 
   burst in the door, shouting "Where is he? We saw him come in." Despite the furrier's protests, they tore his shop 
   apart trying to find Napoleon. They poked into the pile of 
   furs with their swords but didn't find him. Soon, they gave 
   up and left. 
        After some time, Napoleon crept out from under the 
   furs, unharmed, just as Napoleon's personal guards came in  the door. The furrier turned to Napoleon and said timidly, "Excuse me for asking this question of such a great man, but what was it like to be under those furs, knowing that the next moment would surely be your last?"
        Napoleon drew himself up to his full height and said to 
   the furrier indignantly, "How could you ask such a question of me, the Emperor Napoleon! Guards, take this impudent man out, blindfold him and execute him. I, myself, will personally give the command to fire!"
        The guards grabbed the poor furrier, dragged him 
   outside, stood him up against a wall and blindfolded him. 
   The furrier could see nothing, but he could hear the 
   movements of the guards as they slowly shuffled into a line and prepared their rifles, and he could hear the soft 
   ruffling sound of his clothing in the cold wind. He could 
   feel the wind tugging gently at his clothes and chilling his 
   cheeks, and the uncontrollable trembling in his legs. Then 
   he heard Napoleon clear his throat and call out slowly, 
   "Ready. . . aim. . ." In that moment, knowing that even 
   these few sensations were about to be taken from him 
   forever, a feeling that he couldn't describe welled up in 
   him as tears poured down his cheeks.
        After a long period of silence, the furrier heard 
   footsteps approaching him and the blindfold was stripped 
   from his eyes. Still partially blinded by the sudden 
   sunlight, he saw Napoleon's eyes looking deeply and intently into his own - eyes that seemed to see into every dusty corner of his being. Then Napoleon said softly, "Now you know."

        A man risked his life by swimming through the 
   treacherous riptide to save a youngster being swept out to 
   sea. After the child recovered from the harrowing 
   experience, he said to the man, "Thank you for saving my life."
        The man looked into the boy's eyes and said, "That's okay, kid. Just make sure your life was worth saving."