first published in the Iowa Source. Okay, I wrote this one. BTW, a recent article in the Journal Science reports that even rats laugh. I'll refrain from making any far too obviously clever or esp. too heavy-handed references between this little factoid and my post about the new Pope. Vaya con Dios, brothers ans sisters.......
I am getting over the plague of a flu that’s making the rounds as I write this. On the worst day I was tempted to wrest myself from the fiercely clinched jaws of the grim reaper and finally make up something remotely resembling a last will and testament. I don't own an inordinate amount of stuff but I have a few things I thought I might consider giving some serious thought to whom I'd like to see them go to in the event of my sudden demise. Which sibling would appreciate my collection of unpublished manuscripts, who'd get my Chipmunks, Elvis Costello and Sarah Vaughn records, which of one my nieces or nephew might want my wind-up toy and finger puppet collection or which cousin ought to receive my Grandfather's school desk?
Fortunately, in the midst of this trauma-drama-mind-melt I was able to pull myself out of this insane cycle of despairing thought and recognize the absurdity of what was going on in my head. I was able to laugh at myself and the realization that I had been considering who would get my rather odd collection of material possessions when all I was suffering from was the friggin' flu.
Meanwhile, I have a friend in Sri Lanka doing relief work for Tsunami survivors, a mother in the hospital and am surrounded on a daily basis by honorable people whose lives are destroyed by mental illness, abject poverty and addiction, yet remain committed to helping others. This is what is referred to as a moment of clarity. Others call it an epiphany of the obvious. Like being reminded to drink 456 glasses of water a day or eat 27 pounds of fruits and vegetables, it’s a gift to recognize its humor and wisdom.
I'm fond of saying if I didn’t have the ability to laugh at myself, I would have been dead a long time ago. Keeping a sense of humor about the myriad of ridiculous circumstances that life offers up is not only an effective survival technique it's also good for your physical, mental and spiritual health. Much research and many studies suggest this and while the idea that “the very act of observation changes that which is being observed” is an over simplication of the idea behind quantum mechanics, why not go ahead and observe what pleases you or makes you laugh? If a particle makes you happier, see a particle, if waves do it for you, look for waves. Thank you, Niels Bohr.
A 2002 study at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN reported that people who expected misfortune didn’t live as long as people who expected good things to happen to them. Researchers evaluated results from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and compared them to subsequent mortality rates. They found that those who scored high on optimism had a 50 percent lower risk of premature death than those who scored in the more cynical realm. In addition to a lowered risk of early death, researchers found other health benefits related to positive attitude. These benefits included fewer problems with work, less physical pain, better social lives, fewer emotional problems, increased energy and an overall feeling of being more at peace with the world and themselves. Hopefully, “the results could lead to ways to help pessimistic people change their perceptions and behaviors and thereby improve their health and perhaps lengthen their lives”, said Toshihiko Maruta, M.D., a psychiatrist at the Clinic and lead author of the study.
Good teachers are important on this path to levity and looking on the bright side. I was fortunate to have parents who taught me the importance of not taking myself too seriously despite my propensity to do ridiculous things and try to be serious far too much of the time. Bless their hearts, they forgave me and laughed at my antics over and over again. One summer when I was sixteen, they were returning home from a weekend retreat in the mountains and arrived to find me sprawled out on my back in the middle of the living room floor. The lights were off, I had candles everywhere; the speakers were down from the shelves and on the floor and my mother’s copy of Rick Wakeman’s Journey to the Center of the Earth was blaring from my father’s stereo. They seemed alarmed and I was miffed at being interrupted. I was trying to commune with a higher artistic God, for goodness sake. Later on I overheard them from their bedroom laughing about it. I was furious at first. “They’re not taking my journey seriously!” After a good night’s sleep, I also saw the humor in the situation and, to be honest, I was grateful I wasn’t in trouble.
One of the best writing instructors I ever had used to tell us before each workshop to "check your egos at the door." In terms of keeping a positive mental attitude and maintaining a sense of humor even in the darkest times of times, I think (AHA!) it's not bad advice to "check your thoughts at the door". Having an abundant mindset doesn't necessarily hurt either. As Nobel Prize winning poet Pablo Neruda said, "More Lobster! More Butter!" Writing up a will is not such a bad idea but in the meantime I’m going to give Costello’s Get Happy another listen
No comments:
Post a Comment