I feel incredibly grateful these days for many things: a roof over my head, food in the fridge, good health, a sweet four-legged companion, a treasured circle of family and friends and work that feeds my soul.
I also feel especially grateful right now for humor.
I was lucky to have parents who had (have) a great sense of humor. They weren’t stand-up-comedian-funny but they always managed to laugh and see the humorous side of life, even in the worst of times (and my dear father, at the most irreverent of times. God rest his soul.)
Both of them taught me that one of the most important qualities to look for in a person was a sense of humor. Why? Besides the fact that it’s just fun to be around someone who has one, it means they don’t take themselves too seriously. It also means they have a healthy and refreshing perspective on life.
Verrry important qualities to have on any given day, but especially now as things feel so chaotic and unknown.
I know we’re all waiting for a vaccine that’ll protect us from COVID-19. In the meantime, let’s make sure we use the vaccine of humor, since that’s good for whatever ails us.
Humor vaccinates us against despair, fear, hopelessness, anxiety, loneliness, and getting pulled under by the crazy in life. It eases tension, improves overall health, helps us hold things lightly and reminds us “this too shall pass”.
In light of these unsettled times, try to keep a sense of humor and find ways to laugh. This isn’t so you can dismiss or duck out of what’s happening. It’s so you can endure what’s happening. Laughter and humor are key ingredients to being resilient.
As one of my all time favorite authors, Anne Lamott, likes to say: “Laughter is carbonated holiness”.
What do you say we pop open a bunch of holiness as a way to help in our collective healing?