May 22, 2009
The great disease of man is seriousness. The cure is to lighten up, let go and, laugh! Never forget the ‘goofball’ inside and allow it to come out at any moment. Seriousness creeps in over time consuming one’s very nature that arrives at the point of always being ‘dead pan’ and negative about life in general. Serious people are at the root of all
disconnection among people.
Anger, discontent, unhappiness, jealousy, reactionary, grumpy, negativity and all fears are exacerbated by ‘seriousness’. Life becomes much more of a joy to live when laughter is always parked inside be it just a smile or an inner stream of ‘private humor’. Happiness is always fueled by the ability to see humor and ridiculousness in life. Laughter and a yawn are contagious and hopefully the antidote to someone else’s seriousness!
In the years of doing ‘public free speech displays’ that engenders both smiles and anger, I can definitely attest to the fact that my ability to have ‘inner laughter’ has been a trump card to a feeling of success and, accomplishment at the end of the day. In my years of calling on and seeking business from many executives and attorneys on Wall St. and, to counter their sometimes stress, a light heart with practical seriousness clearly made the experience rewarding – even without prospects of a sale!
Early in my shortened 20 year career in sales in Manhattan, Dallas, Seattle, Portland, Oregon, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, a business associate, trying to be helpful, told me to not be so serious and have fun. Always one to consider constructive criticism as an opportunity to make a correction, I spent the next few months reading about laughter and practicing it until one day someone said ‘you always have a smirk or smile’.
Learning to genuinely laugh and smile both inner and outer is without a doubt, one of life’s great blessings – check out a new born child’s grin, when they’re not crying! Laughter is a great stress reducer even if it’s for the one not smiling or laughing. Think about ‘disharmony situations’ and always at least one forgets to laugh. Inner laughter is fuel for deeper self love and love of all. Make frequent ‘deposits’ in the ‘love account’ with a little humor and laughter. (stream of consciousness)
