Solo Weekends with Bruce Langford. Laughter and Humor is the topic. "There is joy in the present moment." This quote, by Pompe Strater-Vidal expresses the connection between mindfulness and humor.
Humor and mindfulness fit together and there areso many ways they do. One of the reasons is because mindfulness is about letting go and its about allowing yourself to just enjoy the moment. How can we enjoy the moment more than having humor and seeing things in a laughable way.
When I think of humor and laughing I instantly think of people like Pompe Strater-Vidal. She was a guest on my show, episode #19. Pompe has a great sense of humor, I asked her about her humor on the show. I said, "I love the way you laugh, and how much you laugh, where did this free, relaxing laugh come from?"
She said her mom had a great sense of humor and she grew up with the humor. As she's grown older, she laughs even more.
Another person I really got that feeling of joy from is Michael Sandler, episode #28. He has a wah-who (higher pitched), followed by a lower pitched, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. He has a podcast called, Inspire Nation. He feels his laugh adds energy to the moment. He notices energy a lot and when he notices the energy is getting low, he injects the moment with his unique laugh.
Another funny person whose laugh I love, is my friend Heather. She has an incredibly refreshing laugh, which I think is about letting go. There's nothing restrained about it. Suddenly something sparks that humorous cell in her brain and she just lets go. I think those all the best kind of laughs.
I love how Ellen Degeneres sees humor in so many different places and she highlights that humor on her show. There's something very light and relaxing about her humor.
"Most comedy is based on getting a laugh at somebody else’s expense. And I find that that’s just a form of bullying in a major way. So I want to be an example that you can be funny and be kind, and make people laugh without hurting somebody else’s feelings." Ellen Degeneres
Mark Twain said, "Humor is mankind’s greatest blessing."
That's probably why I married two very funny people.
Humor is also related to pain and sorrow.
"The secret source of humor is not joy but sorrow; there is no humor in heaven." Mark Twain
"There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt." Erma Bombeck
If we're going through something painful, being able to see humor somewhere can be helpful.
I love the humor in children. It is so natural and easy to enjoy.
"I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it’s the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It’s probably the most important thing in a person." Audrey Hepburn
"Humor is everywhere in that there’s irony in just about anything a human does." Bill Nye
"A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It’s jolted by every pebble on the road." Henry Ward Beecher
"The most wasted of all days is one without laughter." e.e. Cummings
"A day without laughter is a day wasted." Charlie Chaplin
"Laughter is an instant vacation." Milton Berle
"From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere." Dr. Seuss
Tune in to our next Mindfulness Mode episode (55), for a terrific interview with Gregg Clunis. We chat about mindset, the brain and of course, mindfulness.
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