Eat, Laugh, Love

Our lives are made up of small pleasures, made through the work of our own two hands. We surround ourselves with activity, either because we receive it or because we create it, and we call these small actions verbs. The verb is action, life, that which moves the world (however many times others may say this is love).

A book can only have three verbs as its title and you can guess its contents – the well-known novel Eat, Pray, Love proves this – but the question we are asking today is: which three verbs would describe a fulfilling life?

Some would say ‘travel, work, take risks’, for someone close to us this could be ‘get up early, forgive, know’ and we might even find someone who would choose ‘make, plan, arrange’. Still others would tell us that three are not enough and that a life cannot be organized around three words.

There is, however, a trio of words that could bring together states, actions and protagonists, a trio that could collect and enumerate a life that we can recommend to another: eat, laugh, love. And this is the subject of today’s article…

Eat

Let’s ignore the fact that food is necessary for people to survive. Behind this verb is a world full of possibilities that extends beyond flavors and textures. What can it bring us and each of our lives?

• Experience: Human beings are curious by nature. They like to try out, approach, choose and discover. Curiosity is not lost; it changes and chooses different paths as we mature. The culinary world offers us many opportunities to try, discard and experiment based on what we already know and by taking risks.

• Sharing: At the table or in the kitchen you can find moments to ‘be’ with others. Sharing moments, experiences, the joy of conversation or the peace of silence. All these things are associated with this verb.

• Disconnecting: According to the philosophy of mindfulness, food is a great ally to connect with the present moment. The variety of flavors, textures, and temperatures can help us focus our thoughts on that moment we share as we eat.
• Devour the world and sometimes swallow your words: every morning repeat this to yourself: ‘I’m going to devour the world’ and activate your powers. However, also make mistakes, swallow your words, take risks and ask for forgiveness when necessary. We learn from our mistakes.

Smile

Laughter has proven physical benefits. Medical publications tell us that it includes:

• Has pain relieving effects as it releases endorphins.
• Digestion facilitates.
• Breathing improves.
• Insomnia decreases.
• The skin rejuvenates, as it has an invigorating effect.

Laughter manages to distract us from our worries and hinder our negative thoughts. It cannot be the case that both positive and negative thoughts are going through our head at the same time, they always alternate.

This is something that can give us confidence in ourselves and others. Laughter stimulates a sense of belonging to the person in front of us and makes it easier to work with others. Obviously, genuine laughter and conflict cannot go hand in hand. Therefore, by laughing we can avoid conflict and reduce aggressiveness in general.

Many people need others in order to laugh. But why should laughter depend on external elements? Laughing at ourselves feeds our resilience and is a hallmark of good mental health. How many times have we told the story about that catastrophic event that happened to us and ended up laughing with the person we told it to?

Love

How often do we associate this verb with intimate relationships or relationships between family and friends? In reality, when looking up the definition of “to love,” we find the following:

• Like or desire.
• To love, to have affection, to show goodwill or inclination towards someone.
• Having willpower or determination to do something.
• Solve, determine.
• Wanting, trying or checking something.
• Wanting to be or achieve something.

The words ‘want’ and ‘love’ in their most general sense include verbs associated with the impulse to ‘live’, to express the present moment, to program the future and to appreciate on people… there are books, jobs, travel and all kinds of other things that we are attracted to, that satisfy and personally complete us.

Wanting things forces and motivates us to be creative, both for the sake of others and ourselves. It pushes us in a direction and encourages us to act. Showing and receiving love is something that multiplies our feelings and transports us to a state and moment of happiness, one that cannot be compared to anything we know.

So if someone were to ask me which three verbs I would like to accompany me in the process of life, I would choose to eat, laugh and love. Within these three you can find an infinite number of elements that give meaning to life. But now, which one would you choose?