On absurdity and laughter

I am not a bit surprised that my last post garnered no comments from my usual readership. It was definitely not in line with the rest of my previous posts, nor was it of the same quality as other posts in the past. Besides that, I've been rather delinquent with posting comments, so to expect any comments would effectively place me solidly in the land of delusion.

Yet, for me, writing that post was, in a sense, a renewal. A reminder that laughter is the product of dealing with a situation so absurd, that it becomes funny. Where, when the mind can't cope with the situation, it shuts down and the more instinctual part of the mind regards how ridiculous the situation is. It is at this point that laughter comes to the fore.

It is a return to the child-like state of wonder where things are still funny no matter how silly or inane they are. As adults, we don't find them to be so amusing because we guard ourselves against embarrassment. Once status has been attained, things that used to be funny no longer can be and continue maintaining that status.

Consider it akin to telling a knock-knock joke to an adult. If the person telling the joke is an adult, the person responding to the joke quickly becomes wary, looking for the punchline that makes them look silly. For a child, they will respond, eyes aglow, wondering what the punchline is. And then, if they think it is funny, they will laugh.

If a child tells the joke, the adult will patiently play along, and laugh politely. When another child is the receipient of the joke, their reaction is about the same as before. It is only when the children begin to emulate adults that they start to respond negatively. *

So, it goes with the absurdity of pulling a childish prank in the depths of my bad situation which multiplies exponentially the amusement factor it would usually engender. (I suppose that this is only funny from a guy's point of view. Every guy that I have told the preceding story to has laughed uncontrollably. Only one female, out of a handful that I have repeated the story for, found it slightly amusing. The rest were appalled.) In a less stressed state, I would normally not consider doing something so silly and inappropriate. With the increasing stress, I look for any possible way to relieve the stress before it becomes excessive and like a volcano, I relieve the stress in an angry eruption.

Through the laughter, I find a release that allows me to de-stress before things become untenable. And what's the point of life if we can't laugh at something we think is funny? Here's to finding laughter throughout life.


* (Granted, this is largely based on what I have observed, your mileage may vary.)