It's President's Day, and I have the day off- a great time to read and be inspired. Do you think there's such a thing as "Christlike Humor"?
This post was conceived while giggling with Hope at the diningroom table one evening. Her gargantuan goldfish, Beula had just died from what we deemed constipation. Beula had been overfed- (and goldfish die of constipation when this happens- fyi- useless info that you will someday need) poor baby. The whole constipation thing got us going in 11 year old boy/late night humor... and though our mirth we began to wonder, "Is there such a thing as Christlike Humor?" I need to be careful when I get silly, that I don't also get a bit sinful ya see....
....so we pondered in our punchiness... "Righteous Humor".
It has been a few months since the idea was born, but now I can write-
Do you think the Savior has a sense of humor?
Do you think the Savior has a sense of humor? I do. In fact, humor seems to me to be a very divine thing. President James E. Faust quoted a thoughtful man who said, “There is certainly no defense against adverse fortune which is, on the whole, so effectual as an habitual sense of humor." The gift of laughter can ease many a pain.
Do you remember Elder Wirthlin's talk, "Come What May and Love It?"
His premise was that the way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life. Remember? He says,
"When I was young I loved playing sports, and I have many fond memories of those days. But not all of them are pleasant. I remember one day after my football team lost a tough game, I came home feeling discouraged. My mother was there. She listened to my sad story. She taught her children to trust in themselves and each other, not blame others for their misfortunes, and give their best effort in everything they attempted.
When we fell down, she expected us to pick ourselves up and get going again. So the advice my mother gave to me then wasn’t altogether unexpected. It has stayed with me all my life.
“Joseph,” she said, “come what may, and love it.”
You can choose.
That has been a byword in our family for many a year. You can choose. In any situation you still have the choice of how you will react, how you respond, what you will do. There was a war fought over this one- its a biggie. You can choose.
Elder Wirthlin goes on to tell a family story. It's one of those classic "blind date" stories we all hear from time to time:
"I remember when one of our daughters went on a blind date. She was all dressed up and waiting for her date to arrive when the doorbell rang. In walked a man who seemed a little old, but she tried to be polite. She introduced him to me and my wife and the other children; then she put on her coat and went out the door. We watched as she got into the car, but the car didn’t move. Eventually our daughter got out of the car and, red faced, ran back into the house. The man that she thought was her blind date had actually come to pick up another of our daughters who had agreed to be a babysitter for him and his wife.
We all had a good laugh over that. In fact, we couldn’t stop laughing. Later, when our daughter’s real blind date showed up, I couldn’t come out to meet him because I was still in the kitchen laughing. Now, I realize that our daughter could have felt humiliated and embarrassed. But she laughed with us, and as a result, we still laugh about it today."
They could have chosen the opposite response to humor- they could have easily been "mortified" and profusely apologized, been super embarrassed... yady yady ya....you know how the drama goes. But isn't it just getter to laugh and be done with it? Most of life is really very funny- we just have to lighten up and love it.
Studies show that laughter lowers blood pressure, increases endorphin levels and helps us live longer. Surely it is a heavenly gift. Ecclesiastes 3:4 says "there is a time to laugh" and Luke quotes the Lord as promising better times to come in Luke 6:21, "Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh."
Ya just gotta giggle. Let it build with a bit of sillyness, and perhaps that giggle will grow, and grow...and grow.... (use your tone from when you read "where the Wild things are) until it bursts forth into s great guffaw that banishes all the stresses and uglies from your life...just for a moment, but that's enough. Because you will feel better.
Do you remember Elder Wirthlin's talk, "Come What May and Love It?"
His premise was that the way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life. Remember? He says,
"When I was young I loved playing sports, and I have many fond memories of those days. But not all of them are pleasant. I remember one day after my football team lost a tough game, I came home feeling discouraged. My mother was there. She listened to my sad story. She taught her children to trust in themselves and each other, not blame others for their misfortunes, and give their best effort in everything they attempted.
When we fell down, she expected us to pick ourselves up and get going again. So the advice my mother gave to me then wasn’t altogether unexpected. It has stayed with me all my life.
“Joseph,” she said, “come what may, and love it.”
You can choose.
That has been a byword in our family for many a year. You can choose. In any situation you still have the choice of how you will react, how you respond, what you will do. There was a war fought over this one- its a biggie. You can choose.
Elder Wirthlin goes on to tell a family story. It's one of those classic "blind date" stories we all hear from time to time:
"I remember when one of our daughters went on a blind date. She was all dressed up and waiting for her date to arrive when the doorbell rang. In walked a man who seemed a little old, but she tried to be polite. She introduced him to me and my wife and the other children; then she put on her coat and went out the door. We watched as she got into the car, but the car didn’t move. Eventually our daughter got out of the car and, red faced, ran back into the house. The man that she thought was her blind date had actually come to pick up another of our daughters who had agreed to be a babysitter for him and his wife.
We all had a good laugh over that. In fact, we couldn’t stop laughing. Later, when our daughter’s real blind date showed up, I couldn’t come out to meet him because I was still in the kitchen laughing. Now, I realize that our daughter could have felt humiliated and embarrassed. But she laughed with us, and as a result, we still laugh about it today."
They could have chosen the opposite response to humor- they could have easily been "mortified" and profusely apologized, been super embarrassed... yady yady ya....you know how the drama goes. But isn't it just getter to laugh and be done with it? Most of life is really very funny- we just have to lighten up and love it.
Studies show that laughter lowers blood pressure, increases endorphin levels and helps us live longer. Surely it is a heavenly gift. Ecclesiastes 3:4 says "there is a time to laugh" and Luke quotes the Lord as promising better times to come in Luke 6:21, "Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh."
Ya just gotta giggle. Let it build with a bit of sillyness, and perhaps that giggle will grow, and grow...and grow.... (use your tone from when you read "where the Wild things are) until it bursts forth into s great guffaw that banishes all the stresses and uglies from your life...just for a moment, but that's enough. Because you will feel better.
And the answer, of course, is yes. :-)
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