Love is not an emotion. It is your very existence.

We are so attached to our suffering that laughing happens, generally, only as a release of tension. Only rarely, very rarely, does laughing happen without cause. We cannot laugh; we cannot be happy; even in our laughing there is pain. But laughing is so beautiful, such a deep cleansing, a deep purification.

If you wake up laughing, you will soon begin to feel how absurd life is. Nothing is serious: even your disappointments are laughable, even your pain is laughable, even you are laughable. Let your laughter be your only prayer. Let your joy be your only offering. Love life! Love small things! Don’t miss a single moment. Go on getting more and more joyful, and you will find God is coming to you more and more.

My emphasis is to increase your cheerfulness, your laughter, because this world is not for the miserable. This world is not for the people who have become too accustomed to anxiety, anguish. This world belongs to those who live moment to moment in utter ecstasy. Cheerfulness, non-seriousness, a sense of humour to me, are very fundamental qualities of a religious being. Be a joke unto yourself.

Laugh at yourself. But learn to laugh. Seriousness is a sin, and it is a disease. Laughter has tremendous beauty, a lightness. It will bring lightness to you, and it will give you wings to fly.