Laughter...!
This morning...
We ran our four mile loop which finishes by the supermarket, where Anadi stopped ... Intervals are no fun for him, and he wants his running to stay fun...
Running fast is fun for me, and I was going to carry on down to the harbour where I planned to run some speedy stretches...
So I went 'intervalling' while he went shopping...!
When he emerged from the supermarket, he saw our 'boat captain' sitting on the wall... They greeted one another. The boatman expressed surprise that Anadi was the one doing the shopping, it appears to be quite a 'land of the male' still, here in Gozo... 'You are going to the supermarket' he said 'that is good'...
'Yes, Julia's running' Anadi replied....
'I have seen her running' he responded, 'she is very strong'...
I imagine I am becoming 'known' by the locals, especially as I am running about all over their island...
The other night...
We had dinner with Willy and Pandora, they are the couple we met in Sammy's restaurant... They travel the world as a crew to a 70 foot yacht, we recognised one another when we first met - they are the sea gypsies to us land gypsies...
Over dinner we discovered that the yacht they live and work on, cost the owner 1.1 million pounds; I asked if the yacht owner knows how to sail... Willy doesn't think he does...
He won't be joining his own boat again until April, and so he employs Willy and Pandora as full time crew and maintenance people...
'That would be the only way I could have a boat really' I said 'I'd have buy you two as well as the boat'!
Now...
I am sitting on the terrace of the Grand, looking out at a scene of sun on blue, sparkle and brightness... I like looking at sea, I like doing less in my life...
The rhythm feels rather the same as twelve years ago when I moved to Eastbourne...
I did less then; I ran and I wrote - and worked, but not too much, and I felt healthy and well on not too much to do... And I laughed a lot...
The Tri Store in the town was in its infancy, I had played a part in its creation, and so spent quite a lot of time there... A Saturday morning cycle ride left the doors of Tri at 9am, I believe this tradition continues still, and we returned for coffee and pastries afterwards...
And lots and lots of laughter...!
I have always been a 'laughy' person...
As a child my giggles got me into endless trouble... I can remember an occasion when I was asked to say Grace before our school meal. This was an honour requiring much gravitas and beautiful pronunciation.... I had been 'larking about' with my friend Jackie, and so was already shaking with laughter, unable to control myself, and all that eventually came from me was an explosion of giggles....
Another time in the gym at school, we were all sitting cross legged around the wall. We were taking it in turns to do our routine for the BAGA (British amateur gymnastic awards) - Just as one of my classmates (I can remember her name and surname as you do with old classmates, but will spare her here!) - just as she leapt over 'the horse', she emitted a very loud and long fart!
The games mistresses acted as if nothing had happened, as did the girl herself, and everyone around the walls stayed silently upright and cross legged....
Except me!
I tried and tried and tried to keep my giggles in, but eventually they exploded as loudly as my friends fart!
Laughter heals us, laughter connects us
Norman Cousins famously chronicled the effects of his self-prescribed "laughing cure" in his book 'Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient'
He watched Marx brothers films and discovered that the laughter reduced the inflammation in his arthritis and meant he could get some sleep...
Research since has shown laughing reduces the stress hormones and increases the health giving ones, which results in greater relaxation and resistance to illness and makes for a generally greater sense of wellbeing, and creates a happier life!
When Athena Jane came to me for her first session, many years ago now, she arrived heart broken and in tears... She sat down on my sofa sobbing...
'I just want someone to tell me I won't always feel like this...'
I sat with her as she cried...
After a while I repeated her words...
'You won't always feel like this'...
She looked up at me through her tears, and laughed....
We both laughed....
And then I got up and made us some coffee, opened a packet of biscuits, and we started on a journey, of exploration, expansion, discovery, and much laughter...!