Truth Tool - Humor

Concerning life, many people have said something similar to this: "You can laugh or you can cry, but laughing is a lot more fun." I agree, and that is why humor is a powerful Truth Tool.

You've all also heard that laughter is medicine for the soul. There are many reasons for that. First of all,  many of us take ourselves far too seriously, but by learning to laugh at ourselves we open up whole new areas of healthy, pain free living. We can do this in many ways. One thing that works for me is to use my over-stimulated imagination and when I start to worry or have other negative feelings about myself I exaggerate the things I’m worrying about to the extreme until suddenly I’m laughing at the preposterousness of what I’m thinking.

I’m embarrassed to admit it now, but years ago whenever my husband came home late, I’d find myself thinking, “Oh no! He’s been in an accident!” And I’d have the funeral planned, and sometimes even got to the point I was in tears as I pondered how I was going to support the children all by myself. But I’ve learned that when I start thinking “accident” to change to a funny story like Mr. J decided to stop and hike to the top the mountain and then I imagine him in his shirt and tie, trying to hike. I let my imagination go all out. He’s taking along his briefcase and laptop and fighting the brush back with it held in front of him like a shield. His face is full of determination and when he gets to the top of the mountain, he rips open his shirt to reveal a big “S” for Superman. Besides keeping me feeling good, when I do this my husband arrives home to a cheerful wife instead of a morose one.

Someone told me that you’re going to laugh about most of the situations of life when you look back on them, so why not laugh now. Learning to see the humor in the situations, even the mistakes we make, instead of beating ourselves up over things, is a powerful Truth Tool.

And if you are careful and avoid sarcasm, Humor can be used to change tense situations. I’ve told this story before but it is worth repeating. One day Mr. J came home from work so grouchy that everyone avoided him. He went in his office and we all went into the kitchen to get dinner. As D3 was setting the table I noticed that she put a large cereal bowl of sugar at her dad’s place. I waited to see what was going on. Finally dinner was ready and we called Mr. J in to eat. As he approached his place and saw the bowl of sugar, he stopped and growled, “What’s this?”

D3 timidly spoke up, “We thought if you ate that you’d be a lot sweeter.” He started to laugh, all the stress left him, and he returned to his cheerful self.

Humor, can be biting and sarcastic and hurtful, but when used correctly it can be a powerful Tool to help us stay firmly grounded in the Realm of Truth.

On the Light Side

As I walked out to the mail box this morning I was thinking how nice it would be to receive something besides an advertisement, bill, or wedding invitation in the mail. A note from a friend. Some surprising news. Anything! But alas all that was there were bills and advertisements.

As I walked back into the house I considered some alternatives. (Remember when you Live in Truth you can fix it or live with it and since I didn't want to live with it I was contemplating how to fix it.) One thing I thought of was to write myself nice letters and mail them. Or I could write a friend and ask her to write back. I can order things off the Internet and have them mailed to me.

I think my budget and my friends like the write myself option, but now I have to think of a way to get the letter to myself to be a surprise.

I guess you can tell I'm in a funny mood! Hope you're laughing along with me. Have a wonderful Truth day!

My Mom

 I went up to the Bountiful hospital to see my mother yesterday and just have to tell you what a spunky woman she is. While I was there the doctor came in and said that the C-scan showed that she has nine broken ribs and a cracked collar bone.  Of the nine broken ribs there are only two that are broken in one place; the other seven are broken in two or three places each and I mean broken not cracked. They are floating! All nine are on the right side so it means that she has almost nothing (there are only 12 ribs on a side) to hold her organs inside her body. She is going to be in a care center for at least two months and that didn’t set well with her. As soon as the doctor left she said to me, “I think it will only take a month.”

After she fell she said she couldn’t breathe and as she lay there the thought came to her, “I think I’m dead.” And then she thought, “Oh no, I’m not dead. I’m in too much pain to be dead.” That’s my mom! Pain is proof of life! If you ask her how she is she answers, "I'm doing fine." And she sounds like she really means it.

She is a spunky woman who is enduring the pain without complaining, and maintaining her sense of humor through the whole thing. When I grow up I want to be like her.

Listen. Learn. Laugh. Love.

I’ve been very busy the last few days and I’ve missed you.

On Friday and Saturday I attended a wonderful conference

that lasted all day both days, and I learned so much.

 It was wonderful.

It is delightfully surprising to me that when I learn anything new

I suddenly find that thing every place I turn.

For example, I learn a new vocabulary word and for the next few days

 I hear it or read it all over the place.

Well in this conference that had nothing to do with Living in Truth

 I found several things that I loved about Living in Truth.

In one of the breakout sessions a man was talking about a woman

who had influenced his life

and he said that she once told him that whatever you encounter in life

 you need to listen to it to make sure you understand,

learn all you can from it,

laugh at yourself in it,

 and love it.

That pretty well sums up what it takes to Live in Truth!

So I’m sharing today the Four Ls:

Listen. Learn. Laugh. Love.

Laugh and Learn

D6 recommended a delightful book to me that I’m happy to tell you about. It was written by a woman who Lives in Truth and the delight comes from seeing how she does it. The book, Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas, describes the adventures of an Iranian immigrant encountering a foreign environment. Every incident she brings up could have been one that instilled hate or at least negative feelings of victimization, but instead she looks at the experiences with a sense of humor and is able to laugh and make us laugh with her. The added benefit is that while laughing we learn a lot about people and especially about ourselves. We learn that often the best approach to life is to be able to laugh at ourselves. 

Think about it. We don’t get upset because a toddler falls when learning to walk. As a matter of fact, we often laugh at her attempts to waddle. Likewise we are growing and struggling to “walk” in so many areas of our lives. Instead of being upset that we can’t “run” yet, we need to step back and analyze how funny this must be and enjoy the journey.

Truth Tool - Humor

Laughter is medicine for the soul. Too many of us take ourselves far too seriously, but by learning to laugh at ourselves we open up whole new areas of healthy living. We can do this in many ways. One thing that works for me is to use my over-stimulated imagination and when I start to worry or have other negative feelings I exaggerate the things I’m worrying about to the extreme until suddenly I’m laughing at the preposterousness of what I’m thinking.

I’m embarrassed to admit it now, but years ago whenever my husband came home late, I’d find myself thinking, “Oh no! He’s been in an accident!” And I’d have the funeral planned, and sometimes even got to the point I was in tears as I pondered how I was going to support the children all by myself. But I’ve learned that when I start thinking “accident” to change to a funny story like Mr. J decided to stop and hike to the top the mountain and then I imagine him in his shirt and tie, trying to hike. I let my imagination go all out. He’s taking along his briefcase and laptop and fighting the brush back with it held in front of him like a shield. His face is full of determination and when he gets to the top of the mountain, he rips open his shirt to reveal a big “S” for Superman. Besides keeping me feeling good, when I do this my husband arrives home to a cheerful wife instead of a morose one.

Someone one told me that you’re going to laugh about most of the situations of life when you look back on them, so why not laugh now. Learning to see the humor in the situations, even the mistakes we make, instead of beating ourselves up over things, is a powerful Truth Tool.

And if you are careful and avoid sarcasm, Humor can be used to change tense situations. I’ve told this story before but it is worth repeating. One day Mr. J came home from work so grouchy that everyone avoided him. He went in his office and we all went into the kitchen to get dinner. As D3 was setting the table I noticed that she put a large cereal bowl of sugar at her dad’s place. I waited to see what was going on. Finally dinner was ready and we called Mr. J in to eat. As he approached his place he stopped and growled, “What’s this?”

D3 timidly spoke up, “We thought if you ate that you’d be a lot sweeter.” He started to laugh, all the stress left him, and he returned to his cheerful self.

Humor, can be biting and sarcastic and hurtful, but when used correctly it can be a powerful Tool to help us stay firmly grounded in the Realm of Truth.

Hyacinth Bucket

I love Hyacinth Bucket. For those of you who have not yet met Hyacinth click here and enjoy. For those of you who know Hyacinth, (you are already chuckling!) you know that she illustrates for all of us the absurdity of some of the things we do. We see the truth about ourselves in Hyacinth, and we see it in a way that makes us laugh at ourselves. She illuminates the ridiculous within us and makes us want to be more sincere and real in our own lives.

Most of all Hyacinth allows us to laugh at life. She takes life so seriously that we are forced to see how absurd that is. Instead we take a step back, look at life with new eyes, and laugh at what we see.

Humor is one of the most powerful of the Truth Tools and we all need to hone our skills at using it. It can take the edge off many a negative experience and can literally eject us out of the Pit of Illusion. Learning to see humor in the situations of life is powerful. A friend going through some bad times once said to me, "I know I'll laugh about the incongruities in this situation when I think about it later, so why not laugh now." Another friend recently said to me, "I'm beginning to realize that my life is just one big joke." And she meant that in a very positive way as she laughed about some odd things in her life that others would cry about.

But there is one more thing Hyacinth does that I love. She creates her own reality. She does it to the point of the ridiculous, but by doing it she illustrates for all of us that we too create own own reality. We have the power to make our lives whatever we want to make of them. No one forces a reality upon us. Instead, by the way we look at the things that happen to us, we create reality.

So, here's to Hyacinth! We learn from her faults and we learn from her strengths. And because of all she's taught me, I love her.

Laugh And the World Laughs

I’ve been thinking a lot about the power of humor again. It really is amazing how a good laugh can not only dispel negative feelings and thoughts, but can literally melt away tense situations.
Many years ago my father served as mayor of a small town, Centerville, Utah, during the time it was changing from rural to suburban. One night he was conducting a town meeting to discuss the need to put curb and gutter along Main Street. Several of the farmers who had land on Main Street were very upset about the cost of this project. As the meeting went on many of them grew angry and were very vocal about their feelings. Finally in a rage one old farmer stood and yelled at my father, “Mayor Mills, you can go to hell!”
The city lawyer, Keith Stahle, was sitting next to my father and without missing a beat he said loud and clear, “Mayor Mills, I’ve researched the books, and you don’t need to go unless you want to.”
At those words the entire room broke out in laughter and the mood changed so that a positive discussion could take place. When used in the right way, humor can be powerful. Humor can change a mood. It can change an attitude. It can change dark, negative thoughts into bright, cheerful ones.
If you have stories like the one about my dad in which humor changed you or others, leave a comment and tell us about it.

Powered By Laughter

The other day I had one of the first busy days I’ve had since my surgery. Three months ago, I used to breeze through these kinds of days. But after months of lazy recuperation, I found myself stressed over all I had to do that day, and added to that was the stress as I looked around and realized how far behind in household chores I’d gotten because I hadn’t had the strength to keep up with everything. Thoughts like “I’m never going to get all this done. No matter how hard I try, I can’t do all this. I’m so behind all ready. Things have piled up until it’s impossible. I’m going to end up in the hospital again.” At the hospital thought, I realized what I was doing. It wasn’t the tasks that were causing me pain, it was my thoughts about the tasks. I had to get rid of the thoughts.

So I went back over every thought I’d had and exaggerated it. I purposely made myself see it in my head as absurd. I played each new thought out like a movie. I saw myself frantically running from one task to the next like a chicken with its head cut off—and I mean that literally, my head was cut off so that I bumped into things I should have seen and toppled over things in my way. I saw myself sinking in the clutter of my office like a hunter sinking in quick sand. Inch by inch I slowly disappeared until all that could be seen of me was my index finger wagging frantically for help. I saw myself being rushed to the hospital in a florescent orange ambulance, me in a full body cast, and when we arrived the ambulance driver announced to the doctor (who looked a lot like Jack Black in a mustache and beard) that he had to restrain me because I was battling self-inflicted -clutter-traumatization.

I don’t have to tell you that by that time I was laughing so hard I couldn’t be upset. With the negative emotions out of the way, I tackled the tasks at hand with no pain. Humor is a powerful tool. It works especially well when we are stressing over something bad we think is going to happen. Just exaggerate the dire consequences until they become absurd. Give the image as much ridiculous detail as possible. Laugh at the “movie” you’ve created until the negative feelings are dispelled. Then, on the wings of that laughter, do what needs to be done. Laughter empowers every time!

What a Day!

It is amazing how life changes when you don’t know what tomorrow will bring. I realize none of us really do know what tomorrow will bring, but we live as if we do know. However, when you really accept the fact that you don’t know and can’t know, and that there might not even be a tomorrow you look at things differently. I found myself clinging to every little detail today. As we left early this morning I soaked in the sight of my little cul-de-sac and marveled at what wonderful neighbors I have. While waiting for the ophthalmologist, I noticed with great delight how the eyeglasses in the optical shop lined up so neatly. They made marvelous patterns like a row of dashes on a paper. And the things I am learning! Wow! Have you ever seen the inside of your own brain? Amazing! (By the way, the neurosurgeon said the rest of my brain is beautiful! I’ve been saying for years that beauty is on the inside.)
We visited doctors today and took more images. The choices of what to do are narrowing, but we won’t make a decision until Monday. The very best scenario for me right now is that the tumor is lymphoma. In this case lymphoma is actually better than a benign tumor because a lymphoma can be removed with radiation while the benign tumor will have to be cut out and there is a high possibility of blindness if they have to cut. If you had told me a few weeks ago that I’d be praying to have cancer I would have thought you were nuts.
Thanks for all your comments, prayers, and emails. I can't even tell you how much they lift and encourage and help me.