The title for this blog says it all. If it were not for our ability to laugh at events, at others, and ultimately at ourselves, we would be doomed indeed.
There has been precious little to laugh at, this year. The pandemic has wrought havoc and destruction. Our lives are in danger. Our businesses are virtually destroyed. Our morale is low. Our relationships are wrapped in fear.
Yet life goes on. It stumbles forward in the face of adversity. It refuses to give in until it has to.
If you had to bury a loved one during the past 8 months you could barely do it. Health restrictions no longer allow a normal funeral or a wedding. You can’t go to the movies. You can’t watch a live game. You can’t go to a restaurant. You can’t even browse in a store.
Life moves forward despite the heavy setbacks we experience at the hands of this merciless virus.
And humour is always the right medicine. Humour disarms us of our fears and biases. Humour helps us to forget ourselves and stand up to something that threatens us.
Historians claim that when Hitler decided to carpet bomb London during WW II his immediate desire was to destroy the city but also demoralize its inhabitants. Much to his surprise, the Londoners proved to be a stubborn lot. The buildings were destroyed but Londoners became increasingly brave. Far from being demoralized, they grew bolder and more determined to fight back.
Humour keeps us from retreating when we are faced with pain. When we look at tragic circumstances as anomalies we gain time. While we laugh at a problem we remind ourselves that we will be okay and can move forward. Emboldened by this internal realization, we brave on.
Someone has said that life is either a tragedy or a comedy —take your pick.
A tragedy because it inevitably leads to failure and death. Nothing “gold” can stay. All decays. All arrives and then disappears as if on cue. It all feels futile and brief.
But life can be a comedy if you just see it that way. All the calamities, frustrations, squandered dreams —these can be interpreted with a different perspective. These can be responded to with deliberate detachment.
Is everything enjoyable in life? Of course not. But if we choose laughter as an initial response to all the bad we can’t control, we gain hope and know we will endure.