The Power of Humor

I had this thing bothering me – it's called family gatherings. I couldn’t listen to huge quantities of lamenting and statements spoken from pessimistic viewpoints. I dedicated a lot of time and energy to somehow tackling the problem. All the different meditations and affirmations I did helped a lot, but in the end they seemed to be insufficient. What sorted things out entirely in the end was the power of humor. I start making jokes the moment I sit behind the table and then laughing catches on and it lasts.

Similarly I have an acquaintance who likes lamenting. It’s her habit, her attitude and her way of life. To my big surprise she noticed pretty soon that I don’t really like this attitude of hers. And guess what — she started telling jokes and developed a new habit. Hence she jokes in my presence almost all the time. And I surely like that a lot.

The point I am trying to make here is the following: People that keep lamenting and therefore take a lot of energy from you are not doing it on purpose. They are not even aware of what they are doing. Thus be gentle and diplomatic in showing them the way to a more positive approach in life.

And last but not least important: may I warn you that some people will fight very hard to keep their negativity, for in their world the negativity is all they have got. In such cases you have to take care of yourself first and protect yourself by avoiding them to some extent.

Of course humor also cheers up those who suffer from a mental illness. It makes it easier for us to accept our illness. Surfing on the internet I lately found very cool stand up comedians that are trying to make mental illness more casual by making jokes about it: http://www.standupformentalhealth.com/

You can ask me more about my experience with telling jokes: bb.bukle@gmail.com.