Quote #18

“Never be afraid to laugh at yourself, after all, you could be missing out on the joke of the century.”
- Dame Edna Everage

Some of my favorite wisdom comes from quotes by comedians. Something about understanding the science of humor must make comedians unusually wise. They just seem to really “get” what it means to be alive.

Obviously this is not a universally applicable rule, but I particularly love when comedians make wisdom funny. I suppose my favorite way to deal with life is to make light of it. Sure, there are some things that should be taken seriously, but everything else should be taken as lightly as possible.

It always bothers me when people react to jokes with law suits, violence or threats.

One of my favorite Internet humorists is David Thorne. He often pokes fun at people, sometimes pushing the joke past “the line” with certain individuals. I believe the problem these people have is that they take themselves too seriously.

The existence of these people is a thorn in the side of anyone wishing to make humor in a way that could be considered even remotely offensive. I, myself, have recently come up against this problem while attempting to promote my own work of humorous fiction. I have to keep reminding myself that not everyone will be able to take the jokes for “jokes.”

I think that, most of the time, when people can’t take a joke it is because they are taking it personally. This means that somewhere inside of them they identify with the joke in a way that personalizes it. Even if the joke wasn’t directed at them personally, they take it personally and choose to become offended. That’s when I would say that they are taking themselves too seriously. They should not be afraid to laugh at those things that they identify personally with. By laughing they can participate in the benefits of humor. They can stay happy. By choosing to become offended, not only do they miss the opportunity to feel good, they take an opportunity to become bitter and sometimes even hateful.

I, for one, love making light of as much of life as possible. I believe that even God has a sense of humor. It can make hard times bearable, it can make the sun shine on a cloudy day, and it can make good memories out of any situation. Who would want to trade all of that for living constantly at odds with the world? And, when I’m trying to make someone’s day with a touch of humor, why should I have to live in fear that he’ll take himself too seriously?

This particular instance with my friend Autumn (yes, she’s female) could have turned out ugly:

Lucky for me, most of my friends don’t take themselves too seriously. Now if only that attitude were a little more universal.