Iphigenia, Play and Laughter

Ben Hur, Iphigenia and Mimi Moonshadow. They are the neighborhood cars.

We’ve had more fun and laughter over the naming of our cars, though none of us knew it at the time.

Ben Hur is the ’63 Dodge Wagon next door owned by my great neighbor Helen. Her son named him so because of his protruding chariot-like diamond-shaped hubcaps.

Iphigenia is our brand new Indigo Blue Scion XD. She needed a majestic name. She’s going to bring us faithfully wherever we need to go.

Mimi Moonshadow is her sister across the street, the Light Gray Scion XB. Mimi’s got an energetic fun-loving owner. It’s perfect.

People often ask me how to bring more laughter into their lives, and one response I give, is to play more. Create an environment where laughter naturally flows – a laugh-ready environment. Use humor with the everyday things of life. Opportunities for play and laughter are everywhere. As Plato said, “Life must be lived as play”.

I only wonder what Ben Hur and Iphigenia do together at night while we’re all sleeping. (They’re parked side by side in adjacent driveways.) Helen assures me they’re having deep philosophical conversations.