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By Charlotte Lankard In a world steeped in pain and violence and suffering, it is important we not forget that humor is one of our best coping skills. Humor won't make the pain go away, but it can give us a break from it. Humor involves our thoughts, feelings and behavior. It may be a funny story, a practical joke or a slapstick skit. When used to help us cope, it becomes an expression of joy, optimism, compassion, hope, love, equanimity and playfulness. The Humor Project Inc., an organization in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., that promotes the positive power of humor, believes there is a definite relationship between humor and health. So does Integris, the health organization where I work. Dr. Murali Krishna, vice president of Integris Mental Health, begins and ends every presentation with a funny story. Lyn Hester, vice president of Integris Community Services, is known for her wonderful sense of finding the funny in most anything. When asked to speak to a group, her favorite presentation is "Take Two Chuckles and Call Me in the Morning." Too many people think having fun is something you do on the weekend or during two weeks of vacation, and going to work is talked about as getting back to the vicious cycle or the daily grind. Rather than seeing our work as something negative, Dr. Joel Goodman, director of the Humor Project, says it makes sense to choose work that causes happiness. "Do what you love and the funny will follow. We can be in search of excellence and in search of laughter at the same time," Goodman says. "If we don't have humor, creativity, challenge, joy and playfulness at work, then work becomes an extended prison sentence." Career counselors say common considerations for students making career choices are a desire for large financial rewards or good job prospects, a desire to please parents or an urge to pursue a skill in which they already excel. But rarely do they select their life's work based on something they are passionate about or what makes them laugh. People without laughter in their lives may find themselves emotionally depressed, chronically ill and having difficulty in relationships. "Humor -- positive and healthy -- allows us to see a silver lining behind a dark cloud, offers us insight and subsequent freedom from negative self-talk and can even bring us closer to others," says Dr. Herbert Benson, the founding president of the Mind/Body Institute at Harvard Medical School. If laughter helps you cope more effectively, relate more easily, be healthier and happier, then a wise person will make a concerted effort to lighten up! Charlotte Lankard is a marriage and family therapist in private practice with Baptist Counseling Associates and director of the James L. Hall Center for Mind, Body and Spirit at Integris. |