Scott Peck, in his book, "The Road Less Traveled," opens with simple sentence "Life is difficult." I think all of us would agree. He goes on to say that once we understand and accept that life is difficult then we can begin to transcend it.

In other words, once we understand and actually accept difficulty of life then this difficulty no longer matters, because we expect difficult times. The real problem most of us run into is that we expect and even desire that life should be easy.

I'd like to go beyond this notion of difficulty and assert that life is perfect just as it is. This is a concept I've been giving thought to for several weeks. Before you write me off as a lunatic, let me explain some things. Perfect is defined in dictionary as "without blemish."

In order to believe that life is perfect, just as it is, you will need to understand and "buy" into some new paradigm shifts.

These are: 1. All we truly have is right now; this very moment. We cannot live our lives in past (although some do) and we cannot live our lives in future (although some do this also). Attempting to live life in past or future is too rob ourselves of now, because now is all we have.

There was a time in my life when I continuously lived for some future time, "when I get my college degree," "when I get my masters degree," then I will have arrived and I can finally be happy and enjoy life. Life doesn't work that way. And I must admit that I missed out on a lot of life because I didn't know how to live in now. You've heard expression, "Stop and smell roses." Do it now, you might be dead tomorrow.

Here are a few ideas you can use to make certain that laughter remains an ever present reality in your relationships thus ensuring their quality and endurance. Remember introducing humor to previously humorless relationships might take time but results will be worth effort. Start slowly by working on your own fun loving, cheery disposition. Laughter and humor are contagious so it won’t be long before others catch bug.

* Remember that a sense of humor is learned, not inherited.

* Commit to becoming a humor hound. Look for humor everywhere. When something strikes you funny enjoy it. Let laughter flow. After funny event has passed recall it and enjoy it and laugh again.

* Begin to cultivate an atmosphere of humor and laughter in your relationships. Try to enjoy and share humor as often as you can.

* If you don ’t laugh as much as you used to and want to correct situation start associating with humorous, fun loving people and avoid downers.

* Learn to laugh at yourself. If you don’t, you leave job to others.