What a month January was.  It seems that 2012 is going to be the year of community groups for Let’s Laugh.  While my workplace workshops continue to gain popularity I have always been happy to share my  ‘Benefits of laughter as a tool for a happy life’ program with community groups through my affordable community workshop program.  It seems the word on these popular events has really spread through the community sector and my diary has filled quickly with community events booked as far ahead as 12 months away.  I’m heading off to Chicago in mid April to speak at the 25^th anniversary conference of the Association of Applied and Therapeutic Humour, and while I happily have 12 workplace events before I go , I can hardly believe that I also have 26 community bookings. 

January was a month of joy and also of sadness for me.  If you’ve attended any of my workshops you would have heard me mention the wonderful Eva.  Her stories and anecdotes are a vital part of my introduction to our breathing and laughter exercises.  Sadly, on January 21, at age 104, Eva passed away. 

Eva has been a part of Let’s Laugh and a true inspiration since she first entered my life in 2001.  She was a part of the group at one of my early community laughter presentations and made such an impact we kept in touch.  While I’m deeply saddened by her loss I’m also incredibly grateful to have known her.  In past Hotlines we’ve discussed the importance of taking nothing for granted and of viewing every day through the eyes of surprise and delight and Eva was the embodiment of both of these ideas.  I thought I might share a few of Eva’s life policies (and yes, she called them her life policies) as our Happiness tips for this month:

1.       Everything is amazing and should be seen that way. 

2.       We should be grateful for everything we have, family, friends, possessions everything.

3.       We should take the time to appreciate that some things take time.

4.       We should smile and laugh every day, even when we don’t feel like it.

5.       We should always have $10 in our pocket to give to someone who needs it.

Here’s a little about Eva to put her policies into perspective:

1.       Everything is amazing and should be seen that way. 

Eva was born in 1907, less than 4 years after the Wright Brothers made their first flight and 62 years before man went to the moon.  She bought her first car in 1957, a gift to herself for her 50^th birthday, and her son George bought her her first TV in 1958, it was black and white and could only pick up the ABC, which only broadcast until 10pm.  George bought her a home phone in 1970.  It was rotary dial and she didn’t think she needed it.

She made me laugh when we were out just before Christmas.  We were in a coffee shop in the city and a teenager was complaining about the time it was taking for his iphone to load a webpage. It was taking seconds and she commented, just that little bit too loud, “Oh for goodness sake, the signal has to go into outer space and back!  Don’t you think that’s amazing? That somebody put an entire satellite up there just so you can play on facebook!”

2.       We should be grateful for everything we have, positions, family, friends, everything.

Eva’s father died during the influenza pandemic of 1914. Her 5 older brothers, she was the only daughter, fought in the first World War.  4 did not return and the 5^th, her beloved George after whom she named her son, was killed in a waterside accident while leaving the troop ship on his return into Brisbane.  He had survived almost 2 years on the battle field.

She married in 1926 at the tender age of 19 and had 2 children.  Her husband died on the battlefield in Germany in 1943.  She stayed true to him her entire life and never re-married. Her daughter and only granddaughter perished in an air accident in 1989.

3.       We should take the time to appreciate that some things take time.

Eva grew up in a time when you couldn’t simply pop down to the shops.  She grew her own vegetables and chickens, sewed clothes for herself and her family, and, as a widowed mother, couldn’t borrow from the bank.  If she wanted she simply had to save up for it.

4.       We should smile and laugh every day, even when we don’t feel like it.

Eva firmly believed in the power of laughter and smiling.  She had been through a lot in her life, loss, the great depression, seeing a world that changed faster than you could move.  No matter how bad things got, how hard things seemed, she always smiled to think that she had been blessed with the opportunity to see so much.  I can hear her now “Just breathing is a miracle. If you can hear a bird or see a tree, you are truly blessed and you should thank the world with a smile and a laugh. There are those who did not get as many breaths as you.”

5.       We should always have $10 in our pocket to give to someone who needs it.

In 1969 Eva was driving alone in the Blue Mountains outside of Sydney when her car boiled.  As she sat on the side of the road waiting for it to cool a man came to help her.  He filled the radiator with water and said he would start her car, telling her to stand back incase something went wrong.  He started the car and drove off, leaving her on the side of the road with nothing.  Her hand bag was on the front seat.  She was walking to the nearest town when a family stopped and she accepted their offer of a lift to the nearest train station.  As she thanked them for the ride she wondered what she was going to do with no money.  Suddenly the driver opened his wallet and gave her £5.  He wouldn’t hear her protests at such generosity and she not only got back to Sydney, she bought sandwiches for the trip, bought a new handbag and still had £1 left over which she gave to a local charity. To her dying day she would always give money to those who she felt could use a bit of a hand.

For the 11 years I knew her Eva always told me that her time was almost done, her family was getting tired of waiting for her, and there should be only smiles when she finally goes.  She loved Dr Seuss and she would often quote her favourite saying “Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.”

This month we would also like to congratulate the Smile Project as they get close to their 10,000^th Smile family member.  They are much better at face book than I am.  Don’t forget, Let’s Laugh do have a face book page at  and I will try to remember to post things.

Thank you to everyone who sent through wishes and thoughts after our last Happiness Hotline. 

Have a brilliant February and keep laughing.