Purpose: Being Seen in Beauty and Laughs - episode 309
Let’s start here: Whether you say yes or no you still don’t have control.
That is a piece of inspiration Lyndsay Raffield shared during our conversation and it’s a great reminder. She’s right. You actually do not know how something is going to go either way - not fully.
She is a goofball by her own admission and loves to make people laugh. In fact that is how we met. She and her friend posted a funny reel on Instagram and I messaged her with a compliment. A sweet conversation began from there and here we are.
Finding purpose in the make-up line Restore Collective, Lyndsay understands that women want to feel beautiful. She has found new friends with the shared goal of supporting women. It’s given her a way to help them be seen and valued, something she cares deeply about.
Lyndsay’s advice for you in finding purpose is to surround yourself with people who will support you, people you can be yourself with. Find your people, and then do for them, and no doubt, they will do for you. That’s love. It does.
You can find Lyndsay on Instagram: lyndsayontheway.
Encouraging. Goofball. Opinionated.
— Lyndsay Raffield
5 Forever Laughs
Thoughts from Purpose: Being Seen in Beauty and Laughs
We know that Lyndsay is a self-described goofball and we met because one of her Instagram reels was so funny I had to watch it several times. I ‘slid into her DMs’ to tell her so and voila, a connection was made.
So what makes you laugh? And when was the last time you laughed? Are you making it a regular part of your life? There is too much to miss if you don’t. We can get all too serious and miss out on the lighter side.
Here are five things that make me laugh no matter how many times I see them (in no certain order):
Seinfeld: Kramer to George, Do you ever yearn?…Often I sit and yearn. (Season 3: episode 23, The Keys) George to Jerry, Tippy-toe! Tippy-toe! Lemon Tree! as the signal the woman is coming back into the room (Season 2: episode 4, The Phone Message.)
Kathleen Madigan: Anytime she imitates anyone - her dad Jack, her mom Vicky, her brother Patrick, and the woman in the gift shop in the North Carolina airport when asked why the airport was decorated with so many mermaids everywhere, said with disgust and disdain: I don’t know. Somebody saw one once. (Bothering Jesus stand-up special on Netflix.)
Best Friends: a 1982 movie with Burt Reynolds and Goldie Hawn. To keep the wedding to a bare minimum they go to a Spanish-speaking establishment that is on the way to the train station. The officiant has an accent so when he says, I thee endow it sounds like I dee and doe. Confused they each say exactly that when it is their turn to recite the vows. I giggled out loud just now as I wrote that part. (Saw it recently on Prime. I think I rented it for $3.99.)
King of Queens: when Kelly and Deacon buy Doug and Carrie a painting for their anniversary that is based on a photo of the two of them. It is not at all flattering, making Carrie’s right arm look exceptionally large (I am giggling again) and Doug’s forehead, as he says, looking like it could land a plane. (Season 8: episode 17, Present Tense.)
The New Adventures of Old Christine: This was an underrated TV show that had a strong ensemble cast starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus. There are many moments that make me laugh and I have watched it all the way through several times. One stand-out out of many would be the ‘whiteboard family tree meltdown’ when Christine is charting what her family tree might look like if she dates her ex husband’s girlfriend’s father (Scott Bakula) and her brother Matthew is doing the drawing, adding things and making it worse. (Season 2: Episode 3, Come to Papa Jeff.) As I write this I realize it sounds very un-funny but I assure you that it is. You’ll have to take my word for it.
There are others, of course. But these are the ones that rise to the top as I think about something I am willing to watch on repeat. I need laughter. I want to feel delight, and I chase it. In fact I fall asleep to comedy in my ear every night. It’s my white noise, or brown, or whatever color. It works.
Laughing with two of my favorite people.
Daughter and son. We have the same humor!
