Humor does not diminish the pain - it makes the space around it get bigger.

Laughter, and the broader category of humor, are key elements in helping us go on with our life after a loss.

Like sheep that get lost nibbling away at the grass because they never look up, we often focus so much on ourselves and our problems that we get lost.

When we can find some humor in our upsets, they no longer seem as large or as important as they once did.

The studies indicate that focusing our attention on someone else, takes our mind off of our own problems. We stay healthier and thereby live longer.

Today's business and health care climate may not be pleasant. Cutbacks, pay cuts and layoffs do not make anyone's job easy. But that does not mean that the humor need stop.

Laughter can help relieve tension in even the heaviest of matters.