by Roz Trieber
What is this thing called Humor? According to C.W. Metcalff, humor is a way of being, seeing and interacting with the world. It’s all about perspective. When you give yourself permission to let go of the fear of feeling foolish, you will always be able to see the third side of the coin.
Have you noticed there are people who seem to be fun, up beat and able to laugh in tough times? And it seems to make their life lighter and perhaps healthier and even increase their bottom line? They are the folks who come to work wearing a funny hat or clown nose when you least expect it. Humorized (I made up that word) people are able to share silly riddles with their children, play funky games and laugh without a reason. Fun is their goal. Of course, there are also those folks who are just plain gloomy, bleak, stiff, un-amused and just don’t get it (the joke that is)! You know them: their face is stiff and would crack if they smiled or even attempted to enjoy the “Dilbert” cartoon posted at the copier! Who would be your choice to hang around with?
Humor takes you out of your normal frame of reference and, if only for a moment, opens your eyes a little wider. It can open the mind and excite the soul. Having a sense of humor or engaging in random laughter is not about being a stand up comic. With laughter, we acknowledge the reality of our own perceived imperfections and move on to other productive things. We can see the absurdity of the situation. It is about feelings, a combination of being relaxed and calm, at ease with yourself and others. A sense of humor helps us see new possibilities in difficult situations, to feel larger than the problem and change the perceptions of our circumstances before they change us. It is having the ability to hope for something better or just have fun in the moment. Don’t forget - if everything is perfect, there is no comedy! “Only when the usher trips over the bride’s veil do we have comedy”—or so says Phyllis Diller.
What’s the Secret?
This is how it works. Laughter transforms your mind and body into a Whole Goodbody. When you smile, so do others. A smile gains attention, invites interactions and expresses understanding. Laughter is a smile that engages the whole body. When you are laughing, problems and worries are temporarily beamed to another planet. You gain a new perspective on things. Laughing with others is bonding; it leads to positive repartee. It is even nourishing.
Welcome to the Lost and Found
Where did your funny bones go after the age of four? Were they buried with the doggy bones or did you leave them at McDonalds™? Did your nephews and nieces and all of your cousins adopt them? Where, O Where did your funny bones go? Oh, Where O Where can they be?
Make your home and work environment a place that makes you smile and laugh at tiny little things all day long. Begin to build a little humor library in your office or in your kitchen. Keep cartoons, jokes and silly pictures visible at all times. Create your own captions for cartoons expressing your feelings about your life. Share them with your friends. You could wind up having to create a Comedy or Laughter Club. Keep a journal of anything that made you laugh or smile and read it every night. Do something outrageous like subscribing to a humor magazine. You most likely will experiences with a Nerf™ ball, especially while stuck in a traffic jam. As a last resort dress up like a clown and make somebody else laugh at life’s incongruities.
Humor is everywhere; life is filled with absurdities; look for them; expect the ridiculous. If you do not stay in touch with your playful self, you forget it’s even there! Humor and laughter keep us living in the moment, in sync with the universe, not having to control anything. We can do more than just survive. We can thrive by simply increasing our smile to frown ratio, our laugh quota and our daily fun allocation!
Roz Trieber works with organizations to reduce stress and increase productivity using humor and improvisation. For more information on Roz ’s speaking programs, books, cd's and learning programs contact HUMORFUSION at 410.998.9585 or Roz@humorfusion.com. (www.humorfusion.com)
© 2004 Copyright by Roz Trieber and Trieber Associates, Inc.
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