The Tao of Humor

“Don’t take life too seriously.

You’ll never get out of it alive”

-          Elbert Hubbard

I was born with a funny bone.

Since I can remember I was the clown, the joker and the troublemaker of the group.

In my youth that special talent landed me in trouble many times and I spent countless hours in the principal’s office because of it.

Being a funny guy made me very popular among my peers but not very popular with the authorities.

They tried in vain to make me renounce my funny ways and in the end, they all gave up.

It was in my genes… Or was it?

My mother was probably one of the most intelligent human beings I have ever encountered.

Her mind was closer to a Vulcan mind than a human, just to give you a reference point.

She had the reasoning power and speed I imagine super-computers have.

A truly analytical mind, but Z-E-R-O sense of humor.

I would come from school, run into the kitchen, and shout;

-          Mom, I got a joke for you!

-          Well, what is it?

-          Why do blind people hate to skydive?

She would pause and think about it. Really think about it.

-          I don’t know. Why do blind people hate to skydive?

-          It scares the hell of the dogs! HA!

She will ponder for another minute. I could hear her brain buzzing.

-          I don’t get it. Why is that funny?

-          Well you know blind people have service dogs and they have to drag them out of the planes… get it?

-          No, I don’t… That is not funny, that is just plain mean... Please don’t tell that joke anymore. We love animals…

DISCLAIMER: No dogs or blind people were harmed during this joke.

Why do we laugh when a person falls down on a flat of stairs?

Why is that even funnier if the person is a little old lady?

Why are pain, violence, disaster, prejudice, racism, chauvinism, stupidity, absurdity and ignorance funny?

Is God trying to tell us something and we don’t get it?

Let’s summarize human life in two opposite and extreme examples:

1)      You are born in most favorable circumstances, you are well raised and educate, you accomplish success, power, fame, and fortune, you have everything you have dreamed of including perfect health and then YOU DIE!

2)      You are born in most unfavorable circumstances, you are badly raised and educate, you are a total failure in everything you try, never acquiring any power, fame or fortune, you have nothing you have dreamed of, you have rotten health and then YOU DIE!

So now let’s contemplate the two scenarios:

Do you think life is funny or do you think life is serious business?

If you think life is funny then you got the TAO of humor and no explanation is needed.

If you think life is serious business, then you don’t get the TAO of humor and no explanation is possible.

Life is hilarious. Why? Because it is and you can’t explain a joke.

Actually, you can but it will not make the joke any funnier. AU contraire!

OK, I’ll leave you with another story. Maybe this will help you understand the TAO of humor.

I love camping and one Memorial Day I took my family camping in the Yosemite Mountains.

We found a perfect spot to set our tent. A sandy wash that had no rocks and it was perfectly flat.

Outdoor people will understand why a flat spot is so important when you setup a tent.

As for the rest, just trust me; it was a perfect spot.

We did all the fun stuff you do when camping; hiking, lighting a camp fire, cooking some camp classic food, roasting marshmallows, telling jokes and stories, playing games around the camp fire late into the night and finally going to bed under a spectacular starry sky.

It was towards the first hour of the dawn when the sound of raindrops on the canopy of the tent woke us up. I look out at the sky and it didn’t look that bad. The forecast for that day was sunny weather but in the mountain, weather can be unpredictable. I decided we can make it and went back to sleep.

When I woke up our tent was flooded. The perfect spot we choose for our tent was a water wash path (that explained the flat sandy spot on the top of the mountain)

The rain had subsided to a drizzle but the water coming down the slope was filling up our tent.

We grabbed some pots and pans and frantically started scooping up the water, needless to say, very unsuccessfully.

A park ranger stopped his Jeep in front of our camp site. He approached us with a big green on his face. Obviously, for him the situation was funny.

-          Good morning folks, how’s it going?

I was a bit irritated by his attitude and said to him:

-          Why don’t you stop laughing and give us a hand instead?

-          Sure thing. I will as soon you move the tent out of the water wash to a higher ground.

You know that Homer Simpson face “Oh duh?” That was me after realizing how stupid I was.

We picked up the tent and moved it out of the wash to higher ground and voila, the water just naturally drained out of the tent. Reluctantly I thanked the ranger and he drove in his merry way.

So do you think that was funny or do you think that was unfortunate?

This is the Tao of humor: At the time I thought it was a disaster but now I think it was damn funny.

So do you think your life is pretty serious stuff, hard, stressful or even depressing?

Well, you know what I think? I think life is hilarious!

And then you die 😊