In Others' Words: Humor

"I think the next best thing to solving a problem is finding some humor in it." ~Frank A. Clark    

There are so many things wrong with the photo I found to illustrate this blog post, I had to laugh. 

You've got a parking sign pointing right.

And directly below that is a "Wrong Way" sign--and "Wrong" is spelled incorrectly. Or is it? Maybe the street name is "Wong." I don't know. Is "Wong" right--or wrong?

And then there's just a glimpse of a yellow sign right behind the blue signs also pointing to the right ... So can you or can't you turn right and find parking? I don't know. If I was driving in an unfamiliar part of town, those signs would spell T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

When I read the quote, I couldn't help but think about my older brother, Bobby. he was the only kid in the family who could make my mom laugh when she was angry. We would all be waiting on the wrath of mom to descend--and we probably deserved it--and Bobby would do something outrageous. Say something beyond ridiculous. 

And Mom would laugh.

Anger diffused.

So often when I'm faced with a problem I go all tense. I've got to solve it. Now. Nobody interrupt me until I figure this--whatever it is--out.

Think about your favorite suspense movie. The anxiety is ratcheted as high as it can get, you can barely breathe. And then--something funny happens. Tension diffused. (I remember watching one scary movie that had this silly magician's bunny hop across the screen at these odd moments. I don't remember why. But I do remember laughing. And catching my breath.) You realize how much you needed that moment of laughter to be able to finish the movie.

Life's like that too. A moment of humor, a bit of laughter, can help you regain perspective and solve the seemingly unsolvable.

In Your Words: Can you laugh in the midst of problem solving -- or do you have a strictly enforced "No Humor" policy until everything is resolved? Can you think of a time when humor helped you solve a problem?

photo by shirleybnx/stockxchng.com