November 02, 2026

Carbonated Holiness

Laughter is carbonated holiness.

Anne Lamott wrote this line in Traveling Mercies while remembering her friend Pammy, who was dying of cancer. The two women would end up in fits of laughter even in the hospital room, finding something holy in the absurdity and sweetness of still being alive together. For Lamott, beauty rarely showed up as a grand epiphany; it bubbled up sideways, in jokes and giggling fits, right in the middle of real pain. It is a reminder that joy and sorrow often share the same room, and that laughing with someone can be its own kind of prayer.