I Love Laughing and Being with People - episode 71
Sara has a great laugh - she loves all things humorous, and yet there is a side to her that is serious and goes deep. Like making changes when she sees things could be better. Like the strong held belief every opportunity for you is a chance to show up the way you believe. In short, be yourself. Always. Sounds pretty unabashed to me. Sara is a people-person and it shows. I’m guessing she’s an extrovert - fueled by others.
My takeaways from Sara are: be sure you look for, and celebrate, what’s funny. Take initiative because you never know what might stick. Even if it doesn’t it will likely lead you somewhere else that could be even better than where you are now. We keep calling it “pivoting” on the show and I think it’s the perfect term to describe how to move forward. As she shares it, Sara has done that multiple times, and has the chutzpah to see it through. She’s pretty cool for that in my book. (And yes I said cool. I like the word and what it means to me.) 😎
Intuitive. Passionate. Kind.
— Sara
Making Merry with Mary
Thoughts from I Love Laughing and Being with People
I love laughing too just like Sara. Honestly who doesn’t? I suppose it’s possible but it is very hard to imagine going through life without the complete and utter joy of hilarity. My first memories of that deep, satisfying laughter come from my first friend, Mary (pic of us below). She single-handedly has given me the gift of expanding my humor horizons. Since she was my first friend, we met in elementary school and the shenanigans have continued to this day. Mary received her appreciation for the absurd from her dad, Jack. So I guess I have him to thank for the things I think are funny.
Cue the flashback music. We are in the cafeteria, and at that time you had to raise your hand to be excused. In those days they wanted to make sure you had eaten enough of your lunch most especially the healthy stuff. (Our adult volunteer for this duty was Mrs. Kremm who usually had just gotten off the tennis court so the memory I have is of a tall, tanned women in tennis whites.) Well you can imagine we had time on our hands as we had to wait for Mrs. Kremm to come over to each child and determine they had eaten sufficiently. To amuse ourselves, or more accurately to amuse me, Mary would take the veggie-of-the-day, typically cooked peas with carrots, and below the lip of the table she would take the spoon with a pea or two and catapult it onto an unsuspecting fellow-student. As I write this I am giggling something fierce at the memory of it all. Of course sometimes she would miss but many times she would not, and we would observe the surprise from the target with great squealing delight as they looked around trying to figure out where the stray pea came from. The trick was to laugh without detection as we did not want to give ourselves away. This was where the real acting skills came in. Laughing without sound, and keeping your face from contorting, is no easy feat especially for a youngster. We excelled at this with all the practice we had! This is only one example of the ways Mary has shaped my merriment.
In writing this I became curious about the different kinds of humor so with the help of Google and the Huffington Post here we go:
Physical or slapstick - as the name suggests, this humor involves physicality. I never thought the banana peel bit was funny but there are others that are. America’s Funniest Home Videos anyone? As long as the involved isn’t permanently injured then yes, can definitely be funny.
Self-deprecating - making fun of yourself. Sure, why not? I’ve not written a stand-up routine or anything but am not above finding humor close to home.
Surreal - silly, absurd, nonsensical. Think Monty Python. Depends on the sketch but for me MP and the Holy Grail has some great moments: invisible horses, clunking coconuts together to mimic the sound of said horses, the knights who say “Ni,” and counting to three.
Improvisational - no script, made up usually with a loose structure depending on the game. There are guidelines, like “yes and…” Done well with talented individuals can be quite entertaining.
Wit/Wordplay - play on words, puns. Typically not what I find funny but there are exceptions to every rule.
Topical - based on current events. Think Saturday Night Live Weekend Update. Sometimes it really works. Depends.
Observational - poking fun at every day life. Seinfeld anyone? A very funny, show about nothing. (Their words.) LOVE the show. Have rewatched and rewatched. Never gets old.
Bodily - having to do with bodily functions, so, self-explanatory. Google says it is popular with men and teenagers. You are going to need to add me to this list. Not every bodily function but there are a couple that can get me going.
Dark - depressing underlying themes with some comedy thrown in. Examples given: Arrested Development (yes please), South Park (no thank you), Burn After Reading (loved it), The Lobster (barely got through it). You get the idea. A mixed bag for many.
Whatever makes you laugh get some more of that. (It’s better if it’s not at the expense of someone else’s heart. Light ribbing is ok, cruelty is not.) Why are we wired to laugh? Or maybe a better question is what happens when we laugh? Good news! It is healthy to laugh and has all kinds of benefits. According to the Mayo Clinic:
Short term - stimulates many organs, activates and relieves your stress response, soothes tension.
Long term - improves your immune system, relieves pain, increases personal satisfaction, improves your mood.
The bottom line is we are hardwired to find humor. Considered an important emotion, it can get us through hard times, help us communicate, and bring us pleasure. It’s even instinctual. Infants laugh so it is not a learned behavior. Contagious, the purpose of laughter may be to trigger responses in other people. So let’s get our giggles, chuckles and snickers in. Every day. It will make a difference!
I love people who make me laugh.
— Audrey Hepburn
Mary, Dance Away from Rabbit Holes, episode 4, my first friend.
Every day without laughter is a day wasted.
— Charlie Chaplin
Family members laughing over a toy on Christmas, the best!
There is little success where there is little laughter.
— Andrew Carnegie
Den, a memorial blog written about him, episode 33.
Determine to live life with flair and laughter.
— Maya Angelou
Becky, Faith-Filled Class Clown, episode 3, and me in Park City.
What were we laughing about?! No idea but we look quite amused.
