If the evidence from your neighborhood feng shui shop is to be believed, the Buddha loved to have a belly laugh. In fact, the many laughing Buddhas you get to see usually emphasize the belly, a feature that sticks somewhat in our Western gullets. 
But having a belly laugh is a sensation all of us remember at some time, and the feeling of light-headed happiness that followed. Laughter releases endorphins and does our health a wonder of good.
I had a scary experience recently. Relating a joke to someone on the phone, I laughed so hard my breath stopped, I couldn't talk - for a few seconds I was simply gasping helplessly. Later I tried to recall what those few seconds felt like. Had I been afraid? Yes, a little, because I seemed to have lost control of my breath. But as soon as I finished gasping and managed to complete telling the joke I felt so happy. Not only the joke, but everything around it, just every little detail about life seemed to be exquisitely funny!
Which is why one has to be full of kind thoughts to those who send us jokes and comic forwards every day in the mail. While this can get to be quite a pain at times, specially when one is waiting for a vital e mail, at least the instinct of such people is not wrong - they're doing what they can in their small way to spread some light and cheer - even if it has become more of an automatic reflex. Give your e mail jokes the smile or laugh they deserve (or not), and build up your own joke database.
Keep those laughs coming!
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