Laughter is the Best Medecine



When you witness a jolly man laughing, a real hearty laugh, hands on belly, red faced with tears in his eyes. It brings a smile to your face, or even a laugh, and you may not notice it at the time, but this smile has completely changed your outlook on life, atleast for a little while.

Maybe it made it so that the pile of homework awaiting you at home didn't seem so intimidating. Or, maybe it made you forget the unwanted day's work ahead of you. No matter the situation, the benefits of laughter are more than what meets the eye.

Laughter has many far-reaching benefits. It can improve all areas of your life; the physical, the mental, and the social areas of your life can all benefit from a healthy dose of humor.

"I believe that if people can get more laughter in their lives, they are a lot better off," says Steve Wilson, MA, CSP, a psychologist and laugh therapist. "They might be healthier too."

Laughter is great for the body, a good belly laugh relieves tension and stress from your muscles, leaving them relaxed for up to 45 minutes. It boosts your immune system by decreasing stress horomones and increasing infection-fighting antibodies. Laughter even protects your heart; it improves the function of you blood cells and blood flow, which can decreases your risk of a heart attack

Laughing makes you feel good! That feeling that you get after getting your jollies off sticks with you. It gives you a different perspective so that you can look at situations more realistically, because humor creates a pychological distance between you and the situation making you feel less overwhelmed.

Humor melts away upsetting emotions. It's hard to feel angry, anxious, or sad when you have a genuine grin on your face.

Laughter is contagious, it's true! Just hearing other people laughing can bring a smile to your face; that's because we are naturally attracted to positive emotions. Group laughter is one of the best tools to strengthen relationships and build group, or one-on-one, bonding. And it can unite people in times of difficulty, after all, laughing with others is more powerful than laughing alone.

The gift of laughter is something that you are born with, it is an innate part of life. Babies begin smiling in the first month of life and are able to laugh out loud well within the first year. Even if you don't consider yourself a naturally funny person, it's not too late, you can learn to laugh at any stage of life.

The best way to learn how to laugh is to smile as often as possible; a smile is the beginning of laughter. Start by not taking yourself too seriously, laugh at the things in life that would ordinarily stress you out, then see how big of a deal they seem.

Some things in life are sad, and clearly no laughing matter, but truth is most events in life fall into a sort of gray zone that makes up your daily life-giving you the choice to laugh, or not.




At A Glance:

Benefits of Laughter:
Physical Health Benefits:

• Boosts immunity
• Lowers stress hormones
• Decreases pain
• Relaxes your muscles
• Prevents heart disease

Mental Health Benefits:

• Adds joy and zest to life
• Eases anxiety and fear
• Relieves stress
• Improves mood
• Enhances resilience

Social Benefits:

• Strengthens relationships
• Attracts others to us
• Enhances teamwork
• Helps defuse conflict
• Promotes group bonding

We're Vegetarians, Not Aliens



     If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? We do! So often it seems like omnivores look at vegetarians as though they are of a different breed. Hell, maybe we are; in the rest of the animal kingdom we find that animals who eat solely meat, animals that eat both meat and plant matter, and animals who eat only plant matter are of different species. But humans have always been the exception, haven't they?

     Truth is the difference between a vegetarian and a person of the typical diet is really nothing more than food preference. You wouldn't usually gawk and be in awe of the idea that someone doesn't eat potatoes. Not eating meat products makes about the same amount of difference to a vegetarian as not eating potatoes makes to a potato-hater.

     Just like anything else in life, you can't generalize. Every person is an individual; not every vegetarian chose the lifestyle because they're against killing animals, or because they want to shed some weight. Some people don't lose a pound. I don't eat meat because I just don't like it. There is no other motivation or thought behind it.
    During Thanksgiving dinner, at the age of six, I've been told that I said: "I don't eat no damn dead bird," a mimic of my father's way of wording things, and refused to eat any of the turkey.

     If I had a dollar for everytime I have been asked: "How can you get enough protein with that diet?", I'd probably have about 30 bucks. Doesn't sound like much, but it's actually a pretty fair amount for being a relatively uncommon question. The average American usually consumes 10% more protein than the lifestyle requires, so says Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin, authors of the diet book Skinny Bitch. In my 5 years of being a vegetarian I have never had a problem with supplementing all of my dietary needs.
    After that look leaves the omnivores's face, that look that tells me they are thinking they were just let in on the secret that I am really a life form from another planet masquerading as a normal human, and they come to the inevitable, and quick realization that I am no different than them, they try to convince me that I have just never had good meat before.
    It doesn't matter if I tell them with complete honesty that I do not like chicken, I frequently find myself in the situation where they resond with, "Oh, but you've never had my chicken." It doesn't matter. I don't want your chicken.

At A Glance:
~ Vegetarian Food

~ Vegetarian Celebrities  

~ Vegetarian Restaurants Near You

Robert Harrison Teaches the Future

When Robert Harrison lectures his class, you can barely tell that's what he is doing. It feels more like listening to captivating stories, told by someone who has all the inside details.

His class is a conversation between teacher and student; you get the impression that he appreciates the time spent with the students just as much as his students appreciate and value the time spent in his classroom.

When opening a lecture on the Roaring Twenties he begins by telling his class slang words that teenagers of that generation would use. He describes how kids would say "He's the bee's knees", when referring to the life of the party, the coolest guy on the block. Then he asked the class what their version of "the bee's knees" is. To which, after a moment of nervous mumbling, one student said: "We'd say 'He's the shit', not to be confused with 'He's a shit." And the wall between teacher and student instantly crumbled.

Harrison began teaching History at LBCC in 2006, he got his doctorate from for Ohio State University, but has been teaching in many different states all over the US since 1983.  Since starting at LBCC he has founded the Democracy Club and started the Clinic for Citizenship.

The Clinic for Citizenship was an event hosted by the Democracy Club in which they had speakers talk to students about government, past, present, and future. They handed out tests, to see how much people knew about their country, and offered to help people register to vote.

He started these clubs because he strongly believes in the future being in the students' hands. He says that he and others of his generation are too old to really make a difference, but that the student generation can change the world.

These clubs are about educating students, because we all get a voice in this world, but due to finances, some people are afforded a bigger voice. Harrison wants to get as many college aged individuals educated and  involved; students make up a large portion of the voting population and this is an untapped power. Too many students don't know what's going and they don't care to be involved, which is a shame since students could be such a force in our government if they only tried.

"I want to push back against a lot of the cynicism and apathy in students," said Harrison.

"He cares deeply for the success of his students and this is reflected in the time he spends on his classes," said Darci Dance, a colleague of Harrison's since '06. "Robert often sacrifices much of his free time to work on class-related information and always brings fun to learning."

Harrison is a devoted family man. He is married to LBCC's writing professor Callie Palmer, together they have two daughters, Katrina and Robin, 22 and 25, two dogs, and a cat, who are integral parts of their lives.

In his free time he enjoys politics, it's a hobby of his. He also loves reading and traveling. He and his wife have traveled to places such as: Italy, Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Morocco, and are dying to see more. "You can't feel like you've lived a full life if you've never seen the pyramids," said Harrison.

When asked what motivates him he smiled and sighed, saying that as much of a cliche as it is, he has to say his children. "My two daughters are the most important things in my life. I am so proud of them."

Scott McAleer, colleague of Harrison's, describes him as a creative thinker who is resourceful and a great problem solver. He is dedicated to his students, their learning, and is interested in non traditional approaches. "One of the most genuinely nice people I know. Personable, laid back, intellectual, funny, kind and unique all come to mind," said Mc Aleer.

It's obvious Mr. Harrison loves what he does. He likes to have a platform, and a chance to influence people. Of life, he says: "Do as much good as you can, have as much fun as you can, because it will be over before you know it."

At A Glance:

Classes he teaches:
Humanities 102
History 103
History 202
History 203

Family:
Callie Palmer-Wife
Katrina Harrison-Daughter
Robin Harrison-Daughter