Eyes are the windows to the soul, but a person’s laughter can tell you just as much, if not more. Laughter comes in various degrees and pitches. Outgoing versus its shy counterpart, the sad laugh versus the happy laugh, and even the ‘trying too hard to cover the sadness’ laugh- we still know, no need to fake it.

An outgoing laugh is a shock to the system. An all-of-a-sudden loud gong crash that rings out nothing but pure, soul-filled octaves of happiness. Outgoing laughter is contagious, it’s in every feature of a face showing from the rose glow that spreads across cheeks, the squinting eyes that seem to smile as well, the wide open mouth showing every happy tooth, and the head toss back that lets these chimes spread through the sky and make even the sun seem to smile down. An outgoing laugh is the purest form of a happiness that a human can seem to possess.

A shy laugh is nothing close to a gong crash, more of a quiet bubble. The sound of the wind rustling tree leaves on a fall morning, letting some slowly dance to the ground. Shy laughs are pink cheeks and eyes that don’t quite hold your gaze. It’s hands that quickly come up to hide teeth and ghost smiles. Although a shy laugh is not abrupt and straightforward, the eyes of the human will still glow with the pure form of happiness found in the head toss back of those with an outgoing laugh. Those shy laugh having humans’ eyes will glow and radiate a warmth like no other, they have their own sun inside of them. If you’re attentive enough to a shy laugh- a quiet sprinkle of rain sounding laugh- then you too, will see this sun light shine through.

Inside these categories of outgoing and shy, are subcategories of happy and sad and ‘trying too hard to cover the sadness.’ A happy laugh is easy to identify, for it always brings others happiness too. Listening to someone with a happy laugh is like watching sweet honey drip from their lips. A sad laugh mimics the whine of a puppy stuck in a cage, it’s still cute but it tugs at your soul in a way you can’t describe. A ‘trying too hard to cover the sadness’ type of laugh is a little harder to notice. Unless you’ve experienced it firsthand, it’s hard to hear it in others. It’s the type of laugh that mimics the beautiful croon of a violin, or a heart wrenching opera. Both are beautiful but some don’t ever see the true meaning underneath. It’s a big toothy smile that doesn’t ever make the eyes smile too. Everyone has heard it, but not all have realized it.

-Passages from a young M