By  LPJ

I am not a therapist, but I did not hold my impulse to offer suggestion to someone often distraught with anxieties, to ease up and learn to laugh at herself. She threw me a blank stare, signifying no understanding, or perhaps, was I crazy? The truth is, I had to ponder for an instant. How could I explain myself and still sound sane. OK, I said, laughing at yourself is taking yourself less seriously. Another blank stare. To inch closer to my point, gently but firmly, I followed my comment with — don’t worry.

Don’t worry. How many times do we hear that from good-meaning people. I’ve heard that said often to me, too. Worry brings anxiety that takes out the joy of the moment, or the anticipation and hope for something good.

Do I worry?

I don’t claim to be completely worry free. But what I have learned in learning the discipline that drives worries away is thinking less of myself, and yes, not taking everything too seriously. If something goes wrong that I couldn’t avoid – I deal with it, learn from it, try to resolve it, and move on. For many, (and at times to myself, too) this might be easily said than done. But persisting on this path has led me to gain a healthy dose of humor that creates laughter and amazingly, a generous pour of cheer and gratefulness and, especially,  enormous thankfulness to God for His wisdom. The counsel of the sages suggests that gratitude is the beginning of wisdom.

So what does laughing at oneself do? For me, it brings cheer and a positive outlook that surges gratitude. The kind that leads to wisdom that evolves into contentment and peace.

But a friend said, if you laugh too much at yourself, people will think you’re crazy. I explained, almost treading over the fine line between proselytizing and reason – you do it mostly in private, not in front of others, but to yourself. It’s a conversation with yourself, a self-chastisement in good spirit, an exhortation for lightheartedness, a reminder that life is still beautiful despite whatever oddity roughed the edges that day, or whatever worry warped your mind that moment. A pinch of silliness is healthy. We’re not perfect, though we aim to be perfect. And that’s okay.

Like the old, old song chimed – don’t worry, be happy. A little silliness, a smile, a chuckle, a laugh would help.

In a nutshell – Trust God; He’s in control — love yourself enough — but think less of yourself.

Linda P. Jacob