Humor Gets Me Through
I need some laughter, Lord
I have had enough of sad saints and sour religion.
I have had enough of sin spotting and grace doubting.
I need some laughter, Lord, the kind you planted in Sarah.
But, please may I not have to wait until I’m ninety and pregnant.
-Church of Scotland
I have an admission to make – I still get a newspaper delivered each morning. I know, I’m a dinosaur struggling to keep up with today’s technology. I like the feel of holding the paper, a feeling I can’t get from online news services. Although I skim all of the articles, I mostly look at two sections – the local news and the comics. Yes, I read the comics, hoping for a laugh to counter all of the sad news of each day. All too often I find myself saying “I need some laughter Lord”. Usually there’s at least one comic that can stimulate a laugh. One day I hit a bonanza with two, and all I could say was, “Thank you, Lord, I needed that.”
I have found lately that the most effective humor to combat stress is to be able to laugh at myself. I have come to really appreciate all of the “OK Boomer” jokes. I’m not sure that the phrase was started as humor, but by adopting it I have been able to laugh at myself when I decry the negatives of the internet, Twitter, and Facebook. Instead of railing and ranting about the state of things in the world today, I can “OK boomer” myself and stop the ranting before I injure myself. Instead of castigating millennials for their dependence on smart phones and laptops/tablets, I can “OK boomer” myself and remember how our generation thought we had all of the answers. Laughing at myself is a good way to practice humility.
This morning I awoke and read about more depressing situations around the world. I went to the comics, but sadly, even my favorites were of no relief to the sad news. Looking for some comic relief, I decided to go to You Tube (OK, I don’t fully decry social media), and looked for old clips of my favorite comedians. Billy Crystal comedy routines helped, and Robin Williams left me in stitches. Humor can be very powerful medicine. I felt better right away.
So, borrowing some of their material, and in the spirit of laughing at myself, I leave you with this:
How do we know that Jesus was Jewish?
- He was thirty years old, single, and still living at home with his parents.
- He went into his father’s business.
- His mother thought he was God.
Holy one, in these troubling times, sometimes I just need a good laugh. Thank you for the gift of humor.
