Have Fun
Do you remember how to have fun? I hope so. It seems too many of us reach adulthood forgetting how to laugh and have a good time. Oh, certainly, some of us think we are having a grand ole time after a couple of drinks. I am not talking about that. What I refer to is the ability to have a good time naturally.
Life is too short to be somber. It is also too short not to be sober. We should not rely on downing some booze in order to laugh.
As kids, most of us probably did quite a bit of laughing. Too many times we were told to stop it. Adults admonished us for laughing too much, as if walking around looking like a professional constipate was a better way to go. Yeah, right. I mean, is maturity some kind of calculus of who looks like they are in the greatest discomfort? Hmmm, Jay looks real gassy, he must be a serious, self-evolved individual. I think not. Jay, work on your digestion friend.
Maturity is not achieved by grumpy facial expressions. It is not a result of being overly serious for no reason other than that we have forgotten how to have a good time without some bogus beverage or self-conning contrivance. Truth is, there are so many funny things taking place in life every single day, you have to wonder why we do not walk around in hysterics a good deal of the time.
Why is this? Simple, because many of the adults we were around growing up were no doubt embittered by their circumstances: lost love, lost jobs, broken hearts, broken dreams, what have you. And they transmitted their negative attitudes and sense of loss onto us. And we, after time, began modeling their drone like demeanor. They told us to straighten up, stop horsing around, stop joking around, and stop laughing. Life is serious they told us. And we grew up confusing enlightenment and individual responsibility with acting as if we were on a steady diet of lemony gravel.
Going through life like it is a prelude to our funerals – sad, somber and mock-serious – is about the least mature, least self-actualized thing we can do.
Do not allow some emotionally burnt out and embittered sack of sadness to kill your sense of humor. Laughing is good for your health and good for your soul. Much of human behavior is thoroughly absurd and deserves to be laughed at on an ongoing basis.
Image courtesy of [piyaphantawong] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
*Authors note: You might see this column pop up online in a newspaper, under the name Both Sides. I am publishing this column here first at CYInterview.com. For a bunch of years, I have been writing newspaper columns. Since my columns have received a good response on CYInterview, I thought I would share it with you. Hope you enjoy.
You can reach me with your questions and comments at Jay@CYinterview.com Like today’s column? Check back frequently.