Joyful Humor Is An Invitation To Play

Joyful humor is an invitation to play, and to not take ourselves or a situation too seriously, even when it is serious. It gives us rest from what is difficult.

Joyful humor comes from innocence and is born from sheer trust, surrender, delight, and nplayfulness. Joyful humor touches us deeply in the core of our being. It is the heart in the artichoke. It is the glue that forms connections. Humor needs to be cultivated and nurtured in childhood to blossom in adulthood. Humor can provide us with a healthy distance from uncomfortable feelings, or even release them when other emotional outlets are too threatening. Loving humor is the joie de vivre of life. It is the blessing that brings relief to the tedious, and a new dance of delight into the blocked imagination. n
I Have Learned n... that humor is about seriously letting go of the too serious, moving more lightly into the world, nand enjoying myself, others, and our situation together. It is apparent to me that a large part of nhumor is willingness to respectfully laugh at myself. Humor involves disengaging from what harms or frightens me, allowing me to move toward laughter—about who I think I am, and am not. By upsetting my common sense, it allows me to see the nonsense often embedded in it.

Musings on Humor, With a Sense of Surrender
Humor involves a sense of surrender into the unexpected. How did your family choose to foster a healthy sense of humor? Did they respect and encourage your humor? How do you now most enjoy your humor and that of others? Who and what bring humor out in you? Why is this? What in your relationships makes humor enjoyable? How can you bring more humor into your life?

Encouragement
Imagine that three belly laughs a day will keep the doctor away. If you cannot connect with your humor, laugh anyway. To be humorous can take effort. Consider what it would take to commit to being humorous more often. It requires practice. Find jokes, memorize them, and then share them, while always being sensitive, ethical, and aware of your listener. Seek and share the absurd in the moment.

My commitment to enjoying my humor, alone or with others, is ... n

The above is an excerpt from Welcome Home to Yourself: A therapist and photographer explore the meaning of life through individual lenses—a mother and son’s journey published in 2008 by Relationships Matter Publishing Inc. www.suzannekyra.comnn