If you’re ever in need of a good laugh, ask me to tell a joke.
I’ll screw up somehow 99% of the time.
The first time really messing up is still far too vivid. Emotions play back alongside the memory.
Likely around 10, eagerness was bubbling over in anticipation of impressing my aunt and older cousins. Rehearsing over and over was going to pay off as I launched into a surefire winner of a joke –
What do Christmas and cats have in common?
They both have Sandy Toes.
Their puzzled looks quickly turned into outbursts of laughter.
Sandy Claws, Sandy Claws, they both have Sandy Claws!
Ugghhh.
Not hard to guess what was brought up year after year when visiting family.
How do you hide when there’s no where to hide?
Shrinking small enough wasn’t possible.
Behind me is a lifetime of mishaps, silly things said and ruined jokes.
But here I stand having survived to tell the tale with a smile on my face.
Laughing at myself started out as self-deprecation for protection.
Get in the first laugh before you’re laughed at.
But over time the laughter turned into a form of forgiveness for being the imperfect human.
Life happens.
To all of us.
We’re bound together by the common experience of being human and all the foibles that come part of the package.
Laughing at myself is acknowledging the humanness we all come from.
Instead of shrinking away from embarrassment, laughing creates the space to invite others in.
There’s no accident we’re wired to thrive through laughing.
We have a built-in mechanism at our disposal to shift ourselves out of the toughest of spots and heal.
Laughing at the downs as much as the ups helps bring clarity to the bigger picture and realize there with the grace of God go I.
Wednesdays are your personal invitation to look into the everyday, as well as the philosophical, in order to see where we’re already Living Bliss. As the Life we seek becomes part of our normal day-to-day, we can easily forget we’ve found ourselves as we work, live and play.
Blissed by cats, potatoes and clouds, Lorraine is a “curious left-brained creative big picture idea” type who never stops questioning or connecting the dots to make possibilities come true. She uses her knack for combining intuitive abilities and logic to help you hear the inner whispers “there’s something more” and re-ignite what Lights you up. Lorraine’s deepest wish is for you to be full out yourself in everything you do – a life truly lived in bliss. You can also join her weekly look into the everyday with Letters From Home.
Thank you!