laughter...sarcasm..what????

So far as I am aware, no one has ever written a funny essay on laughter. There have been serious, even philosophical essays, that cracked no jokes, and there have been comedy skits that purport to be about laughter itself, but are not. That, I suspect, is the first thing to know about laughter: that it does not, itself, double-up. You cannot laugh about laughter because: it is too simple for that. You can laugh only at something that is intrinsically ludicrous, distended, awkward.

Laughter is, I should think, a restorative in itself, and seems directly opposed to fear and madness. So opposite, that a kind of malign laughter is among the symptoms of fear, and of madness, alike.

Some of this is cultural, and I noticed when I lived in the deserted areas f rajasthan that giggling was often the spontaneous response to fear and anxiety, including the extremer forms. The Western visitor often would not understand it. He would think the native was mocking him, or not taking his annoyance seriously. When instead, that foreigner was doing something that scared the poor native out of his wits.

That is cultural, as much so as the Hollywood form of kissing is cultural -- and communicable from one culture to another, by emulation. But more fundamentally I mean, that the nervous impulse to laughter can be triggered by things not in themselves funny -- just as the same feeling in the belly can be triggered by the accident of bad tuna, or by the accident of being in love. The human metabolism is finite and quite limited, human mind and feeling comparatively large, so that a seemingly limitless range of impulses play upon a short range of keys. And it is just as well that this is so, because if our bodies had more sensual range, we could feel more pain than we do.

But I am not here referring to the metabolism of laughter -- I leave that to the medical trade -- but specifically to our tendency to laugh at what is funny. And to laugh entirely in enjoyment of that.

This capacity does not seem to be shared by any of the other animals, though I stand to be corrected by some zoologist. I’m sure some humourless amateur one will tell me that dolphins laugh; and I had a very clever cat once, who struck me as having a mischievous sense of humour. But not even that cat ever laughed. Some monkeys seem to have most of the oral and facial machinery for it, but I’ve never seen one use these in the way we do. Perhaps they can parrot human laughter, but they are extremely unlikely to smoak the jest. Whereas even very young humans laugh at what is plausibly funny.

I lived once next door to a gentleman, who kept a pet gibbon, who could do, unprompted, something much like sarcasm -- or shall we say, a very elaborate sneer. I often think of that animal when watching persons of a certain political persuasion crease their faces and nearly roll their eyes, in response to some assertion that they “have a problem with”. Sometimes, even in response to laughter, to subvert their own temptation to laugh, at something that might be “politically incorrect”.

But sarcasm itself is an exceptional thing, in the part of the universe that contains laughter. One seldom if ever laughs at a sarcastic remark; and when it seems funny it is only because it has been combined with some other droll feature -- is wildly understated or overstated, perhaps. Whereas sarcasm, pure, is an expression of cruelty.

This strikes me as getting towards “the essence of laughter”. That the man who slips on the primaeval banana peel, cracks his skull and may bleed to death on the sidewalk, gives us no compulsion to laugh. Yet the idea of him slipping was funny. On several levels, as it were. One of them being that we don’t intend the reality. Laughter of that kind may even serve as a release to more aggressive thoughts.

I raise this topic today, and may do again, because I find myself living today in a country where there is very little laughter, and expressions of humour are often sternly rebuked -- or ghettoized into special routines, the way pornography used to be. At a time when sarcasm has largely replaced the “good old-fashioned belly laugh”. And I am looking for ways to laugh at this culture.

hurting is good coz pain isnt always purple..!!!

Pain is a powerful ally in numerous ways. Indeed it is nature's way of telling us something needs attention and of encouraging us to take action. For example, if you burn your finger, pain tells you to remove your finger from the heat source and to dress the wound. Without pain our bodies would quickly become injured to the point they would cease to function.

Pain can be a similar ally in larger, non-physical ways. I have heard it said that one of the most powerful things which causes people to reach for, commit to, and achieve outstanding success is a strong level of discontent. And discontent is in a way emotional pain. Indeed, when you get to the place where it hurts so bad that you'll make the needed changes in your life, no matter what it costs, you're on your way up.

Life is about choices. We choose how we respond to any particular situation. Many, when they are in emotional pain whether triggered by family, financial, career, or other causes, look for ways to simply hide from the pain or cover it up. Instead, take a more proactive approach. Determine that you're not only going to take temporary steps to help you deal with the pain in the short term, but that you're going to take positive, concrete actions to address the root source of the pain. Grit your teeth, determine once and for all that you're not looking back, and springboard yourself from failure to success, eliminating the situation that caused the pain once and for all. Learn from failures and setbacks, grow from experience, and you'll eventually rise to the top and realize your dreams.

I've often considered that those who achieve outstanding levels of personal success have been through tremendous difficulties along the way. So is life. It tests those who would become extraordinary to ensure they're worthy. Like a sword that must be tempered in fire and honed to its razor sharpness through the most abusive of methods, life must hone us through the challenges we face.

So, remember, nearly every difficult challenge you face contains the seed of an equivalent benefit. The challenges you face may be essential stepping stones to success, without which you'd never reach your goals. Reframe your thinking along these lines and you'll indeed have a greater chance of achieving your dreams.

its good to be goofy!!!!

To paraphrase a saying my mother liked to use occasionally, "The whole world is goofy - except you and me. And sometimes I'm not too sure about you!"

Rest assured that no matter who we are or what we do, there is at least a handful of people somewhere in this world who are convinced that we're not rowing with both oars in the water. This is absolutely normal. Since no two of us have had exactly the same informational inputs and experiences in our lives, our programming will be different which will of course, prompt us to develop different perspectives of the events and situations we encounter. That produces differences of opinion and occasional conflicts. That's just the way life is.

So why the heck then, do so many of us spend so much time and energy trying to convince folks otherwise? We try to make sure that we do the "right" things so we'll blend in with the rest of the crowd. We say and do those things that are acceptable to "the group" - our friends, family and co-workers. We try really, really hard to fit the mold that we believe others would approve of. We sell our individuality for a reassuring nod and a pat on the back.

And yeah, I realize that sometimes our work requires us to generally reflect the "corporate attitude" in the things we say and do. It helps keep the coins flowing in. And there's certainly no good reason to continually be a butthead just to see how many people we can aggravate today. (Of course, it is sort of fun to stir the pot once in a while to see what happens, isn't it?) I realize too, that we all have our individual reasons for wanting to be accepted and liked. That's OK to a point. But when one of our main objectives in life is to be universally loved, we're just spinning our wheels because it ain't agonna happen.

My suggestion? Just be you - whatever "you" happens to be today. Be goofy! Let it all hang out, baby! You can't control what other folks think about you anyway. (Influence - yes, control - no...) If you have what you believe is a valid opinion - about anything - express it. It's not necessary to be argumentative or confrontational. That can quickly build walls and become an obstacle to any kind of productive communications. But there's nothing at all wrong with being a creative, independent thinker. Can you imagine what the world would be like if these types of individuals had never existed? We'd still all be huddled in caves wondering where our next meal was coming from. Thank God for goofiness!

So the next time you have a major urge to conform just for conformity's sake - force yourself out of the cave and introduce your personal new "wheel" concept to the world. And whenever you see someone else wandering off in what you might immediately feel is likely a weird direction, at least give 'em a pat on the back for having the courage to be themselves and the initiative to try to blaze a new path through life. This world can always use more thinkers - even the really goofy ones!

the future..is it always bright???

Is it true? that the future is always bright in the past there was not much light The future is ours to behold but what I was told in the future you get old The future will come this is sure yours and mine one sec. at a time Until the final curtain our lives uncertain what the future will bring will be exciting