The God Squad: We need to laugh more, smile more
This was obviously a very sad year and Thanksgiving was obviously a very sad holiday because of travel restrictions, social distancing and forced prohibitions of large gatherings.
One of the consequences of this tsunami of sadness and suffering is a reflexive orgy of complaining and griping, all of it understandable and all of it excusable, but the consequence of this culture of kvetch is that it just makes things worse. Reinforcing for each other the list of things we used to do but cannot do now just adds to our collective burdens.
What I believe turns out to be absurdly simple, but dramatically important, we need to laugh more, smile more and see the bright side of life more. I call one of my favorite joy-enhancing techniques spiritual balancing. It is a simple drill in which we spend the same amount of time speaking about and focusing upon our blessings and we do our burdens. Giving joy the same air time as sadness makes our burdens lighter and makes bearing them easier.
The Psalmist teaches this truth with characteristically brief eloquence, “Serve the Lord in joy.” (Psalm 100:2). The Hebrew word in this verse is simha and it can mean gladness or joy or happiness. Any translation that lightens your heart is fine with me.
The thing about being happy is that it is not abstract. You need to be happy about something. Start with jokes or anecdotes, or, in this week’s example, church bulletins. I wish I could provide an attribution to the following quotes from various church bulletins with typos in them, but I cannot. They are part of the flotsam and jetsam of the internet that floats through my life every day and are sent by you, dear readers. So read these and laugh and remember that we do too much reading and weeping for our own good.
CHURCH BULLETINS WITH TYPOS
The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.
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Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled.
Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
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