Of Wit and Whim

Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine. — Lord Byron

Humor is a prelude to faith and laughter is the beginning of prayer. — Reinhold Niebuhr

Laughter is the shortest distance between two people. — Victor Borge

It has long been said that laughter is the best medicine, that it is the cure for whatever ails you. I think it is even better and more than that. Laughter is the key to happiness and adventure. If you can approach life with a whimsical sense of humor, and a healthy dose of sarcasm (one of my most favorite things in the world), then life will be profoundly much more fun. And let’s face it, we can all use a little more fun in our lives.

But in this time of masks, politics and unrest, it that even possible? Yes. But we have to step away from the news and step up to our lives. We must be present in the present moments and approach them with a sense of wonder and optimism. Honestly I think playful wisecracks should be mandatory learning these days. Imagine how much livelier we would be if a class teaching buffoonery and banter were offered in schools. Laughter is one of those life skills that can get us through almost anything. And unfortunately, it is a skill we have to learn on our own.

The last weekend was a wonderful lesson in witticism for me. Indeed there was laughter until my cheeks hurt and tears were rolling down them. My sides hurt too, and it was worth it. There were jokes and puns, imitations and gentle sarcasm met with chuckles. I have never laughed that much or that hard in a weekend before. It seemed like everything was amusing.

And that is the thing about life, we must find the our playfulness. We must not take ourselves, our lives, or our world so seriously, that we cannot laugh at them. A full, whole-hearted, old fashioned, belly laugh. The kind that leaves you breathless and gasping, grabbing your sides and squinting your eyes. And indeed my partner in humor and I were well matched, as we joked back and forth.

Life is a short farce. If we don’t have some levity, then the joke is on us. So, laugh as much as you can, for as long as you can, with as many people as you can.