The Best Medicine

by Caleb Anderson, Outreach Coordinator

I was recently thinking about what it was like when I first showed up at Emmaus, wide-eyed and not sure what to expect. One fear I had early on was that I wouldn’t have anything in common with these men. Would I be able to hold their interest, discuss serious things, have casual conversatons? How could I build these relationships?

The answer was much simpler than I expected it to be. In fact, it was within the first week that this doubt was banished from my mind.

I still remember sitting around the table with the men and other staff. Or rather, I remember because it happens every single day. We share food, stories, opinions, jokes … anything you would expect a family to discuss over a meal.

I share passions and hobbies with some of the men I have met at Emmaus. Some I click with quickly and naturally; relationships with others have different dynamics. But as I observed the community around me that very first week, I saw that there was something so simple, and so powerful, that connected everyone in the room: laughter.

No matter who a person is or where they’re from, they love to laugh. We love to sit around with the people we love and immerse ourselves in joy. Whether it’s sharing stories, exchanging one-liners, or telling good old-fashioned knock-knock jokes, everybody’s heart is lightened in the way that only laughter can accomplish. If we can laugh, we can hope.

Laughter truly is the best medicine.