大象传媒

From Remona Aly, Freelance journalist and editor:聽
As we all know, Comic Relief is with us again, and while I love a red nose, I鈥檓 unfortunately viewed by friends as a bit of an unintended clown. My slapstick life has seen me walk bang wallop into mirrors, glass doors, and the occasional telephone pole. I鈥檝e also sat on my glasses, mistakenly sprinkled my salad with bacon bits - not really ideal for a Muslim - and dropped a black forest gateau on my aunt鈥檚 Persian rug.聽
As much as I want to climb towards grace, charm and dignity, I don鈥檛 often manage to get a foothold. A few moons ago, I was working from home and looking rather professional in my bright pink fleece onesie - a gift from a friend with a bad sense of humour - when my brother dropped by, and asked if I wanted to see his new kitchen. 鈥楴obody鈥檒l be there,鈥� he assured, so I threw on a headscarf and off we zoomed. As soon as I got out of the car, two suave builders who looked like they stepped out of a cover shoot for a men鈥檚 magazine, came into the driveway and saw me looking like the Pink Panther in a hijab.
聽My embarrassment gave my mates a good giggle. Laughter can be transformative. Medieval Muslim thinkers made a study of laughter and found that it improved the circulation of blood in the body, while sadness restricted it. The 9th century Muslim philosopher and physician al-Kindi, defined laughter as a balance of the heart鈥檚 blood together with 鈥渁n expansion of the soul to a point where its joy becomes visible鈥�. I don鈥檛 take happiness for granted any more. There was a time when I forgot even how to laugh, all I knew was tears.聽
But Laughter returned like an old smiling friend, and just as Al Kindi suggested, made my soul expand towards joy. The American Danish comedian, Victor Borge said that, 鈥淟aughter is the closest distance between two people鈥�. As Red Nose Day continues to make the gap between human hearts ever shorter, I鈥檒l remember the glory a laugh can bring, even if it鈥檚 at my inglorious pink onesie.