Dean Powery: Song, Laughter Are Sources of Joy and Resistance
Writing in The Chronicle, Chapel Dean Luke A. Powery says that together song and laughter have become "a key lifeline" for him as he grows older.
"Laughter breaks the chains that want to enslave our hearts," he writes. "Laughter helps us win from within. It is embodied joy as it cannot be done without the inclusion of our bodies, even bodies that have been beaten and broken; it is a whole reclamation of ourselves as humans and a holy joy amid sorrowful situations."
"I have found laughter to be freedom, embodied joy, resistance and an expression of love, regardless of the circumstances of life," he writes.
He closes by saying, "As we begin a new academic year, I hope that it will be a year full of laughter in your life. I’ll be listening for that sound of freedom, joy, and love, a sound that you are winning from within."