Laughter Really Is the Best Medicine

I missed it again. So did the rest of America.

July 1’s unofficial International Joke Day came and went without fanfare.

That’s regrettable, because we could all use a good belly laugh right now — which gave me an idea. The other day, after hearing more doom-and-gloom news while driving, I said to the Apple CarPlay app on my truck’s stereo, “Hey, Siri, tell me a joke.”

Siri, Apple’s voice-activated digital assistant, replied, “My cat ate a ball of yarn. She gave birth to mittens.”

That’s an awfully corny joke — but I laughed so hard, I accidentally steered my truck onto some roadside gravel.

When you laugh like that, it’s impossible to be angry — or to dwell on whatever personal or business challenge may hang over your head

A belly laugh is an antidote to the self-seriousness that’s one of the greatest afflictions of modern times. And with a pandemic killing thousands and crippling the economy, plus protests and social unrest, we need belly laughs more than ever. One psychologist suggests practicing laughing with a friend because “utter seriousness can drive us to despair.”

Social media gives everyone a platform to share thoughts, which is good. But some self-serious people get awfully huffy with others who disagree with or challenge their thinking. They’re so serious and so certain that those who disagree with them are wrong, even evil, that they demonize their detractors.

They don’t try to converse, debate or understand differing viewpoints. “OK, boomer” and “OK, Karen” memes offer cases in point.

Humor and laughter, wonderfully infectious, keep us from falling into the trap of self-seriousness, promoting goodwill, thoughtfulness and civility. “Humor is an elixir, a tonic that is good for mind and spirt,” says an executive coach.

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