Burumbubumbum...

Peace on Earth - can it be...

On the 1st day of December I was listening to Michael Bubble sharing his favourite Christmas songs. You don't have to like Christmas songs or even Christmas - and you can do all you want in your own way to avoid feeling December.

However, it is practically impossible!

With all the street displays, TV shows, radio programmes, smiling strangers, stressed people, overcrowded parking lots... well, how do you plan on avoiding it all?

It may not be to everyone's liking but if people would only let go of the 'stuff' that prevents them from experiencing the December-feeling then we are one step closer.

And I am not being disrespectful to anyone who is going through some of the challenges in life where Christmas may be the time of year it gets a little big tougher. All I'm saying is to keep an open mind and there is love in all hearts - especially useful if we have to dig a bit deeper past the shopping-stress and planning-panick because that is probably when it is most needed.

Seemingly impossible to avoid and if that really is true just make sure you extend your December goodwill - a smile really can create a bridge between a bad day and a good day.

Be gentle with the shopcrew - they are doing their best and tackling all possible situations with a smile even when it is sometimes a stiffened one. Smile on the phone, smile in the car, smile with other people, smile, smile smile...

Even if Christmas is not your celebration, have patience with everyone else who is amindst the seasonfrenzy of food, outfits and whatever else we focus on.

So, live a little peace on Earth and share some goodwill to men and women, animals and plants.

We are in it together - Christmas or no-Christmas.

Wishing you a wonderful December!

Love is just a four letter word

Weed and seed  - another few beautiful four letter words!

A four letter word is defined to be a word that is coarse or offensive... effing and blinding in those one-syllable terms.

Doesn't it seem great though that nice words are also numerous and maybe even more so than the 'bad language' ones?

Words such as good, love, life, true, give, care, ease, mate, wish, kind, home, Moon, star, hope, play, free, epic, dear, luck, glad, soul, hero and lots of other amazing words that inspire with their simple four letters, keeping us motivated and cheerful.

My heart is bursting with the feel-good sensation all these words create and I wish for the miracles of them all to flow into your life, dear Laughter Blog reader, as well as the lives of those who don't read these thoughts but who are touched by four letters every day, touched by life.

Amidst baubles, icicles, past events, one-syllable words, and confidence discussions it seemed that the essence came back to one thing, love.

Irrespective of what goes on for me, there is no way I can change another person into being the way I would like - this is probably one of the key reasons why some relationships failed in the past, because I wanted so badly for the other person to be like I wanted the other person so badly to be... But it really isn't how life works, is it? Or how love works...

Acceptance, compassion and unconditional love!

Being in the flow of life.
Flowing with life.
Living on the tide of life.

There is nowhere more enriching to be in life than in the space of trust and honesty.

That goes for friendships, family, work relations, and that true love connection.

Se here we are, 2013 drawing towards the end of November and soon towards the end of the year and has anything changed in the way of perceiving life?

I'l like to think so.
Every day represents new life, new beginnings, new ends, new love - and even if all of that is still the same as yesterday, well, it is still brand new and fresh.

Look at life with bewonderment and awe every day and I guarantee that these four letter words will flow like magic in every area of life. 'Flow' - another wonderful short word.

Joan Baez 'Love is just a four letter word'.

But it isn't just a four letter word - it is a positive four letter word.

So, live your life...
...and laff!

A Laughter Flashmob???

DUCKMOB 'Quack quack quack ahahahaha quack quack hahaha'

What the...??? How did that happen???

Numerous times over the past many years someone has said 'Laughter Flashmob' and everyone has excitedly joined in celebrating the excellent idea...

However, when it has come to realising the goal of flasmobbing a city with a laugh...well, that is a different story and the reason you are reading these lines in their current form and shape.

It so came about that I decided to spearpoint this event seeing that everyone thinks it is a superb idea but no one has taken the time to action it yet. The best thing about forefronting great ideas is that your team really quickly becomes a more-than-one-person team because the commitment to doing it, setting a date and getting the wheels moving makes it a possible happening and everybody LOVES that.

So, Laughter Network's Lisa Sturge and Lotte Mikkelsen (that would be me) are taking the idea to exciting reality - but let's all make it happen!

Does that make sense? Well, for me it does, because I have done that many times - agreeing to good ideas, nodding in the best-of-intention-type-of-agreement-nod and then doing nothing because no one ran with it and dusted the sneezy-dust off the project.

• Time has come to change things!
• Time has come to take action!

A good idea only lives when we act and when we act in unison there is a higher change of success, and when we act in a multitude of voices then we cannot fail!

So, here we go.
Somewhere in London on 5th July 2014 - and only the members of the club will know where exactly!

Rarely do I promote events on this blog but this is not only about the event but moreso about the courage and the will to take action on a good idea.

When Dr. Madan Kataria had the idea of starting a laughter club back in the 1995-days it took him 3 hours of action to kick it off - and yes, they were only 5 people on that day 13th March 1995 but things changed.

With willingness to put the bottom on the line and with a bit of cheeky courage and conviction we can overcome the worst cases of laissez-faire and boredom, stand-still and tiresome lack of urgency.

The support for this project is only a £2 donation which may cover our costs and the proceeds will be donated to our chosen charity!

It will be amazing to kick off the summer with a great and resounding laugh, echoing through London's touristfilled squares and streets.

Next stop...
World Peace!

Something about cold...

The beauty in frozen windows, icy feet and cold hands only reaches as far as to clattering teeth and a dripping nose.

However, going beyond personal discomfort with the approching winter chills there is just something life affirming and profoundly vitalising in spending time on a wave-ridden beach on a windy day.

Even the drip-dropping rain on a Monday afternoon seem to be infusing the mind and body with energy and my purple fingers on the keyboard are just a minor obstacle to feeling all great.

So what if there are a few freezing digits? My lungs are breathing the fresh November air - erm - fresh-ish I believe would be the proper term when thinking of the traffic frolicking down the road, but nevertheless, I am part of this wonderful breathing planet, breathing along at my own pace.

Why so cold then? Well, even after one year in this house, I still haven't quite grasped the heating technology of the boiler timer.

Somebody had a sense of humour...

No matter how cold it gets there is an extra pair of longjohns and gloves (unless they got lost in /the park...)...

...plus a hot cuppa to celebrate that the weather remains outside again today.

On that note, I am aware that not everyone is as fortunate and that some people may be even colder than I am, and may be without the comforting shelter of a home and added value of extra socks and jumpers - and that nice warm cup of tea with a dunking biscuit.

My heartwarming and heartfelt thoughts go to all of you out there who are starting to feel the wintry sensations!

I remain as always freezingly your pocket philosopher on a cold November Monday with the outlook of a starclimber - never losing sight of the miracles of this existence.

Graciously, gracefully, gratefully.

Homage to Friendship.

1974 Thorvaldsenskolen Class 1a

We are a sum of lots of different elements of the life we lead and live and yet we are not all that at all...

My past with all the ups and downs and mainly wonderful memories came into my mind big time this week and I was reminded that sometimes holding on to things that need to be let go is a way of holding onto something that is a moment of the past and best left there even if it is a great past in the present.

That may not make sense but that is okay - it is just my mind-toggle that is currently working overdrive-frequency on this topic.

Sadness when you say goodbye to people and things that really have meant the world in the past is a natural way of the grieving process and it is what made me think about this whole past subject and how it impacts everything we do - if we allow it.

Friendships happened in the past and they happen in the present.

2000 Ottar's virgin trip - vikings of the past in the present

My memorylane is full of precious images spent with my wonderful friends and some of them I have been fortunate to maintain even after moving country but on occasions time catches up with friendships - the moments they burst or come to a halt.

I experienced one of these changes and it saddened me to the depth of my heart. Distance had put a friendship in a time capsule for a later revisit or maybe never again.

Good friends will always be in my heart and I will probably shed loads of tears over the absence of the fun, laughter, love, tears and times we have not spent and that I thought we would spend together in the future.

Letting go of what we think is our make-up is a daunting thing and it is okay to keep holding onto when the make-up is willing to stick... At times it is time to let go.

Everything happens for a reason and when it happens it is that moment the reason became a reason.

You always have a place in my heart, my friends, new ones and old ones - those from the past and those from the present.

Those who said 'goodbye' and those who said 'hello'.

No matter what, I will always be there if you need me - I may not be just around the corner but I am only a phonecall away.

You are my homies!

The 1987 crash and life on the motorway

1976 Opel Kadett - 1987 Crash Version

When I was 19 years old I crashed my first car quite seriously. It was the year's first snow storm - in April - and I was driving from Copenhagen to my home in Vordingborg, about 80 miles, late that evening. This was before the motorway was extended between Rønnede and Udby, and on this particular stretch on the way the snow was wooshing across the road (which wasn't even a dual carriageway but just a plain small-size A-road). I was tired and to keep myself awake I had windows down and was smoking heaps of cigarettes - yup, I used to do that yonks ago...

Really cold it was! So windows closed again. I must have just blinked very very slowly becuase at that moment my car went over the edge of the road, onto the frozen field and took a few rolls before landing on the side - me inside.

I was lucky and I count my blessings every day.

I got myself unstrapped from the seat and climbed out of the window which was now above my head - in heals and very tight skirt, those were the days of those outfits...

When I got onto the road there were very few cars and a few that passed me as I was waving my arms vigorously, finally someone stopped. Those were the days before mobile phones and before dodgy drivers taking advantage of stranded people on the highway. A nice angel who drove me home and everything got sorted, a nice person who along with my universal protectors got me home safely.

Nice people exist - and there are plenty of them when you expect nice!

For many years I had an ingrained concern about long drives and being tired on the road. I still have ever so much respect for the hours we spend on the road because if heads are not clear... Well, split seconds happen in moments of weariness.

However, years later I realised that if I wanted to go places, I just had to deal with it and get going.

So, I started venturing out on day breaks where I would drive for hours and hours in order to beat my fear of driving lenghthy stretches on my own.

The great thing about cars is that they pretty much do what you tell them to do... This is also the case if you want a break then it will in fact drive the way you turn the wheel, e.g. into a resting area or so.

Cool stuff, eh?

I went to Glastonbury, Bamburgh Castle, Manchester, other places, and most importantly to the North-East Coach where I now drive almost every weekend.

These days, every week I spend between 8-10 hours driving to Co. Durham and do you know what? It is kinda recreational in a strange way.

Some would say it's a waste of time, and I guess you could argue that it is but on the flipside, I get to spend those hours in the company of Thomas, Sanne, Gabrielle, Heather, Kim and my love songs, and although they have been in the car for a long time - isn't it just great to spend time singing along to familiar tunes, knowing the lyrics, and enjoying the trip? Yup, I think so, too and best of it all - it leads to love!

The most important thing, though, is that no matter how many miles and hours we spend on the road, there really is no need to rush and there is always time to take a break! I've had a few close ones over the years and I am thankful they were only close. Being respectful of other drivers, the weather and road conditions is key to living many moments on the motorway - whether it is in the fast lane or the granny lane.

Take a break!
Break away from the rush!

As for the miles...
Never underestimate the power of love!

Defiance.

Btw, this is not about the TV series from 2013 - this is about life!

• Too short for the rollercoaster of a lifetime
• Too young for travelling the world
• Too heavy for Cloud 9
• Too old for playing

Whether it is our personal or our professional life the majority of us encounter stops and opinions non-stop.

Add caption

...and yet! we defied all the adult settings of our childhood and brought ourselves to this moment in time.

When I first started running UnitedMind full-time back in 2010 (mind you, I had been running my business part-time since 2002) I was met plenty with the comment 'So, when are you going to get a real job?'

It didn't faze me, just made me even more determined to ensure the success of laughter as a tool for creating greater health in all areas of life, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health and wellbeing - on a personal as well as a professional level.

Yes, Laughter Yoga really is the root of all good.

Well, just re-capping on the 'fazing-bit', to tell you the truth - sometimes it did in fact faze me - in particular when it was comments made by friends, but do you know what? Those are the times you make decisions everywhere.

A big and life-changing decision doesn't just pop out of nowhere, there are often prices to pay and many choices to make. Does that make you, make me a bad person? Not really, just someone who stands up for values and beliefs, AND makes that extra move that gets the ball rolling.

How do you know when to give up? Well, I don't know. Do you?

Someone who didn't give up on the job...

If you don't know when to give up that is, in my opinion, rather extra-ordinary and superb, because it just means that you haven't met that point where it became unbearable and you had to throw the towel in the ring. And how cool is that for starter?!?!

The essence of my words today is just to go for it, if you don't give it a chance and stand back with other people's opinions, you never get to shape your own meaning of life and you never get to succeed on your own terms.

I hope I am never perceived as arrogant or better-knowing or just better, because I am not, I really am just a person on a mission to create a better world for those people I love and for those who are willing to come on the journey with me as well as for those who don't know this is the mission haha...

I am truly grateful and feel humbled by the trust individuals, teams and organisations have placed in my ablility to provide a platform for making a difference within themselves.

Thankfully I have had amazing teachers, mentors, tutors, my loved once who have stood by their words and enabled me to do the same.

Every day is full of fun, play, laughter, love and joy - and some of the serious adult things but they are carried out with fun, play, laughter, love and joy in mind which makes it a whole lot easier and enjoyable.

Believe, trust, act, love, live, laugh - some great key-words to play by.

Just go for it!
And if you ever feel too heavy to bounce on Cloud 9 - start counting your blessings and you will see that there is always room on that pink cloud and the minute cos the minute you realise and remember the good fortune of life 'too-heavy' becomes light and floaty.