Susan loved the image of the Laughing Buddha and how it can influence us to find joy in everything we do. In Embracing Uncertainty, she offers an example of how she and her husband made a game of it in this excerpt:
To take it one step further, you can pretend you are the Laughing Buddha. My husband, Mark, was having difficulty with a few people in one of his projects, and he decided that instead of letting it get him down, he would go to work as the Laughing Buddha. To him, that meant radiating a happy, loving energy no matter what was happening in the office. He created a list of his favorite “happy” affirmations. Every day, he would repeat them over and over again. He would also email me a message from himself as the Laughing Buddha.
The little game he was playing became our private joke, but the effect on his experience at work was very healing. He was actually able to deflect the negativity of the people in his project and embrace the happy nature of the Laughing Buddha. This enabled him to interact with everyone in a much more positive way. His demeanor changed so much that his assistant jokingly asked him what drugs he was taking! Mark just smiled.
We can all play the Laughing Buddha game in any area of our lives. Each time we play it, it shows us how to stay in the Highest part of who we are for longer and longer periods of time. Powerful stuff, so rewarding, and lots of fun.