Good morning SLAYER! When you make peace with your past you prevent your future from being a constant battle.
New blog goes up Tuesday, until then… SLAY on!
move on
Slay Say
Good morning SLAYERS! Let go!
New blog goes up Friday, until then…SLAY on!
Slay Say
Good morning SLAYER! Anger is like acid, it can do more harm where it is stored than where it’s poured.
SLAY on!
Slay Say
Good morning SLAYER! Forgiveness does change the past, but it does enlarge your future.
New blog goes up Tuesday, until then…SLAY on!
Slay Say
Good morning SLAYER! Your silence does not protect you.
New blog goes up Sunday, until then…SLAY on!
Laughter: A Sign Of Good Health
When I first stepped onto my healing path, laughter felt impossible.
There was nothing funny about where I found myself. Emotionally, physically, spiritually I was exhausted. My life felt fragile. Every moment felt heavy. I was focused on survival, not joy.
So when I began seeking support from others who had walked similar roads, one thing surprised me.
They laughed.
Not in denial. Not in avoidance. Real laughter. Honest laughter. Healing laughter.
At first, I did not understand it. How could someone laugh about struggles, mistakes, pain, or dark seasons? But slowly I began to realize something powerful.
Laughter was not dismissing the pain.
It was proof they had moved through it.
And that realization gave me hope.
The Healing Power Of Humor
My mom has always said, “If I lose my sense of humor, I lose everything.”
She said it through illness, discomfort, uncertainty, and some very difficult seasons. Watching her hold onto humor even in pain showed me that laughter is not about circumstances. It is about resilience.
When I began my own recovery, I held onto that wisdom. The work ahead of me was serious. I had to face truths, take responsibility, and learn new ways of living. But I did not have to take myself so seriously all the time.
That distinction changed everything.
Humor did not erase the work. It helped me carry it.
And sometimes, laughter was the only light available in an otherwise heavy day.
When Laughter Becomes A Bridge
Something unexpected happened as my healing progressed.
I began laughing with others who had similar experiences.
We laughed about things that once felt devastating. Not because they were trivial, but because we had survived them. Laughter became a shared language of understanding. It created connection, compassion, and perspective.
There is something incredibly bonding about laughing with someone who truly understands your journey. It reminds you that you are not alone. It transforms isolation into community.
And that connection is powerful medicine.
Laughter does not isolate. It invites.
The Difference Between Healing Humor And Hiding Humor
I also had to learn an important distinction.
For years I had used humor as armor. I deflected serious conversations. I made jokes instead of admitting pain. I laughed things off rather than facing them.
That kind of humor keeps healing at a distance.
True healing laughter feels different. It comes from humility, acceptance, and growth. It does not belittle yourself or others. It does not minimize reality. It simply allows joy to exist alongside truth.
Once I understood that, laughter stopped being a shield and became a source of strength.
And that shift made all the difference.
Perspective Changes Everything
Looking back now, some of the choices I made during difficult periods honestly make me laugh.
At the time, I justified everything. I believed I was coping, surviving, protecting myself. But hindsight brings clarity. And sometimes, clarity brings humor.
Not mocking. Not shame.
Perspective.
Being able to laugh at past versions of myself means I have grown. It means I am no longer stuck there. It means healing happened.
And that is something worth smiling about.
Why Laughter Supports Mental And Emotional Health
There is actual science behind this too.
Laughter reduces stress hormones, increases endorphins, supports immune function, and improves emotional regulation. It relaxes the body, shifts perspective, and enhances connection with others.
But beyond biology, laughter signals something deeper.
Hope.
When you can laugh again, even gently, it often means healing has begun.
It means you are reconnecting with life.
And that is powerful.
Finding Light In Dark Seasons
There were days when finding humor felt impossible. Those days happen to everyone. Healing is not linear, and laughter does not mean everything is perfect.
Sometimes it just means you found one small moment of light.
One memory. One conversation. One silly observation. One unexpected smile.
And sometimes that small moment is enough to carry you forward.
Laughter does not deny hardship.
It coexists with it.
And often, it helps transform it.
SLAY Reflection
Let’s reflect, SLAYER:
S: When was the last time you laughed freely, and how did it make you feel afterward?
L: Do you ever use humor to hide how you really feel instead of expressing it honestly?
A: What difficult moment from your past can you now look at with compassion or even gentle humor?
Y: How could inviting more lightness into your life support your healing and emotional health right now?
Call to Action: Join the Conversation
I’d love to hear from you.
How has laughter helped you heal, cope, or find perspective during a difficult season?
Share your story in the comments. Let’s cheer each other on.
And if you know someone who could use a reminder that joy can exist alongside struggle, send this to them.
Sometimes, all we need is a nudge.
Slay Say
Good morning SLAYER! Change the changeable, accept the unchangeable, and forget the unacceptable.
New blog goes up Tuesday, until then…SLAY on!
Walk Up From The Basement
We forget sometimes that we have the power to walk away from a situation that no longer serves us, or maybe never did. We don’t have to stay down in the basement. In the dark. We can walk up those stairs and live the life we want, have dreamed of, and truly deserve.
We sometimes keep ourselves in the dark, thinking we deserve to be there, or don’t deserve any better, but we are the only ones who our holding ourselves back, we are the ones telling ourselves those lies that prevent us from finding our own happy ending, or maybe beginning, but finding our happy. It’s out there for the taking, but you have to have the courage to take it.
Before walking on this path I lived in the basement of my own life. And I was the only one in the house! No one was keeping me down there except myself. And I had lived there so long that I couldn’t remember living anywhere else. I didn’t like it there, but it was what I knew. I told myself it was safer there, even though I felt alone there. I thought I deserved to live in the darkness, where it was cold and damp. It clung to me when I tried to step into the light, like it was reaching out for me from the shadows, and I would let it pull me back down, retreating from the world and from my true self. I played the victim and would say that I didn’t deserve good things because I was a bad person. I wasn’t a bad person, I just wasn’t being good to myself. And didn’t believe in myself.
When I finally found the courage to reach out for help, I was told that my recovery, the improvement of my life, was in my hands, that I had the power to change, and I was the only one with the key to unlock the door and step out into the light. It had never occurred to me that I had that key. I used to blame everyone else, or just the world in general, for my life in the basement, but it was me who kept me down there all along. And once I had realized that it was my job to come up those stairs and live the life I was meant to live. Letting myself come up from the basement was the first of many big steps. Learning how to live outside of it came next, and it wasn’t always easy, as that basement was always calling me with it’s familiarity and it’s cloak of sadness a part of me still believed felt right. Change can be difficult. But it can be done. And as I kept taking more and more steps into the light, that basement didn’t seem so appealing anymore. And that feeling of familiarity started to fade. I started to crave the light, and living in it, and eventually threw away the key that opened that basement door.
We all have a choice, ever day, where we want to live, not necessarily physically, but mentally and spiritually, but we have to believe we deserve more than we have, if what we have doesn’t fill our hearts and minds with love. We are only as stuck as we allow ourselves to be, and sure, sometimes circumstances may make it difficult to extract ourselves from our current situation, but it can be done, and if need be, there are always people out there willing to lend you a hand for a better opportunity or place you can call home. Share you truth, let go of your fears and start climbing that staircase, there’s a bright future waiting for you up there. SLAY on!
SLAY OF THE DAY: Do you keep yourself locked in the basement when you should be living your life upstairs? Why do you think you do that? What do you do to keep yourself there? What can you do to get yourself out? What do you imagine your life would look like out of the basement? Have you lived in the basement so long you’ve forgotten, or don’t know? You hold the key SLAYER to your own freedom, but first you have to believe that you deserve to be set free. You also have to let go of the lies you’ve told yourself, or maybe someone else has told you, to let yourself live freely in the light. It’s all there, what you want, what you imagined, on the other side of that basement door, you locked yourself.
S – self L – love A – appreciate Y – you
Slay Say
Good morning SLAYERS! Forgiveness does not change the past, but it brightens your future.
New blog goes up Sunday, until then…SLAY on!
Slay Say
Good morning SLAYER! Not every battle can be won. Not every battle is your battle to fight. The only battle that is worth fighting is the battle in your mind that tells you it’s your right to be right, even when the battle has nothing to do with you.
New blog goes up Sunday, until then…SLAY on!
