Firstly, I believe that I have changed quite a bit over the past few months and appreciate laughter more than tears or fears. From a tragedy queen, one filled with pessimism, I prefer to laugh than to moan, groan, grumble or cry. Instead of dwelling on bad experiences, I would rather fill my life with memorable experiences that make a difference in the lives of others and my own. Rather than being critical of this and that or getting high blood pressure from teaching students who do not want to be taught and would rather memorize their way through high school, I prefer to spend my time reading, writing, blogging and taking life one day at a time. In this way, I am happier, saner although poorer but I treasure my mental and physical health more than my bank account. *Linda - if you are reading this - yes, I have thrown in the towel for sure this time :-).
Secondly, with so much unhappiness in the air and cyberspace with regards to the economic and political situation, I believe that it is so important to maintain balance in our lives. While it is good to lambaste when the situation warrants it, we must not be consumed or overwhelmed by this climate of dissatisfaction. The inclusion of humor in my blog is an attempt to diffuse the situation with some comic relief that we main regain our sanity and enjoy therapeutic relief by laughing out loud. Laughter is an integral part of communication as every single human being understands it. Regardless of the language spoken, everyone laughs. We don’t even learn to laugh as we must for speaking; we are already born with the innate ability to laugh from the time we were born.
Many may not realize it but laughter occurs unconsciously and cannot be faked. In fact, laughter is part of our survival mechanism to cope with the pressures of life. Did you ever realize that those who laugh easily are usually happier than those who don't? When we laugh, it almost seems as though our body is being cleansed of stress and negative emotions. For me, a bout of uncontrollable laughter makes me feel relaxed and very much at peace not forgetting the many good feelings that follow laughter. My younger boy and I laugh a lot because we joke a lot and make sarcastic and funny remarks at each other in good fun thus creating a very happy atmosphere at home.
Frankly, I used to take life very seriously but I realize that the more I laugh, the more able I am to take life less seriously and to cope with the reality of situations. Reality and our lives are not as important or real as we are led to believe. If only I had reacted positively to the challenges and situation of my life from November to January - I would have saved myself a lot of heartache and sleepless nights but I am glad I learnt it now rather than later. Greet every incident and encounter with the belief that reality is not solid and life is not a serious affair, and you will not be able to hold back the laughter.
“Humour was the only means of counteracting the compulsion of human awareness to take inventories and to make cumbersome classification.” – Carlos Castaneda, The Fire From Within
So these days, I really laugh a lot each and every day spontaneously watching a hilarious movie to exchanging jokes with my family and friends, and I have never been happier. I believe it is important to laugh out loud and to lose ourselves in laughter. A good bout of uncontrollable laughter will leave us feeling relaxed and at ease with life, which is the way it should be. Now, I eliminate stress factors or characters from my life and choose to dwell in love, laughter, happiness and good health.
Thus, I can assure you that I have not lost my marbles :-) and hope that the jokes I post in my blog can bring a smile or two to your face and release lots of laughter. If any offend, please forgive me because that is not my intention at all.
Enjoy the following joke...
As a bagpiper, I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man who had no family or friends. The funeral was to be held at a cemetery in the remote countryside and this man would be the first to be laid to rest there.
As I was not familiar with the backwoods area, I became lost and being a typical man, did not stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late. I saw the backhoe and the crew who were eating lunch but the hearse was nowhere in sight.
I apologized to the workers for my tardiness and stepped to the side of the open grave where I saw the vault lid already in place.
I assured the workers I would not hold them up for long but this was the proper thing to do. The workers gathered around, still eating their lunch. I played out my heart and soul.
As I played the workers began to weep. I played and I played like I'd never played before, from Going Home and The Lord is My Shepherd to Flowers of the Forest . I closed the lengthy session with Amazing Grace and walked to my car..
As I was opening the door and taking off my coat, I overheard one of the workers saying to another, "Sweet Jeezuz, Mary'n Joseph, I never seen nothin' like that before and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years."
Have a great weekend filled with lots of laughter and an outburst of joy unspoken!
Cat-from-Sydney Would the bagpiper be angry if we play with his skirt? Purrr..... you sound sad Masterwordsmith, let me cuddle you, lick your face and put my head on your bosom....meow meow meow....(that's why Mama loves me, am good at comforting her...)