We've all heard the expression, 'laughter is the best medicine'. It is a steam release, a stress reliever and a way to produce beneficial hormones, keeping us younger for longer.
I love laughter, I love to laugh. It is medicine for me. I don't know if I could get through a day without it. There are all kinds of ways to stimulate laughing. Life is funny, indeed. But when you have kids and pets, life is downright hilarious.
There are infinite laughs and some are quite unique. A person's laugh can really tell you something about them. The person who regularly laughs out loud probably doesn't have the same reality as the person who never laughs. I can't imagine never laughing. Why be so serious?
Even my favourite murder mysteries are funny.
In some ways, one's sense of humour is highly subjective, but what is funny in a universal sense will always make just about anyone laugh. Seeing people get hurt - accidentally or otherwise - is currently a common pastime, but it certainly isn't a new one. I guess we just like to suffer together.
My favourite humour is a commentary on life, poking fun at that which needs scrutiny.
Social momentum depends upon the ridicule of satire, which is a genre that is relatively offensive to one person or another. I'm on the extreme end, in that I find it ALL funny. I love the tongue-in-cheek, but I also enjoy a good 'roast'.
It's critical that we subject celebrities to ridicule, isn't it? Otherwise, wouldn't we be simply idolizing them and buying whatever they are selling?
The difference between roasting and bullying is that the person being roasted knows they will be made fun of and the person being bullied is not laughing along with everybody else.
Are you making people laugh at the expense of another person? Do you ever wonder if they are laughing with you or if they're laughing at you? How would it feel to be the butt of someone's joke?
The free spirited artist (thespian/comedian) in me enjoys playing the part of a spectacle. I have dreams of becoming a stand-up performer, but all in good time. It's one thing to be witty and get a crowd chuckling, but it would be another thing entirely to find myself being heckled. I'm not ready for that.
Some people won't laugh at jokes that offend certain other types of people. Even saying 'types of people' is offensive to some.
Personally, since I believe that everything is sacred, I also like to explore the age-old question of risqué humour - 'is nothing sacred?'
Where do we draw the line?
Some think that making light of something serious relieves some of the trauma from it. But, in the case of loss or disaster, what if you're not ready to laugh? Every comedian has to ask, 'what... too soon?'
Everything eventually can become funny. The thing that has you fuming today, you will some day be able to look back on and laugh. It's usually impossible to imagine this being the case, but it's true for most people. Some don't know how to look on the bright side, but I assure you, there always is one.
Over the Easter break, my 7-year-old son made up his own super hero character, who wears rubber boots, several layers of cable-knit sweaters and a generic green mask. He calls himself 'Captain Levity'. He chose this name because levity is the opposite of gravity. This hero can fly - apparently thanks to the rubber boots.
Lightening up is my intention for my future. As we grow wiser, we let go of the things that don't matter, including anything that inhibits the sharing of a good laugh.
Remember, if you can't laugh at yourself, you're taking yourself too seriously. Lighten up and enjoy life more... and hopefully Spring, too.
