It is very rewarding and fleshing for a person to
possess a sense of humor. During a period of extreme stress and strain, when
life is hard and the nervous system becomes taut, humor can relieve much of the
tension from life. Touching on the cares and worries that tormented Abraham
Lincoln as President, he remarked, “With the fearful strain upon me night and
day, if I did not laugh, I should die.”
Churchill and our great leader Quid-i-Azam, gifted
with their extraordinary humorous repertoire, often released tension from
parliamentary debates charged with passion by injecting humor into such
situations. Humor has the capacity to put an end to heated arguments and even
quarrels.
Humor not only takes the tension out of
situations, but it also brings mirth and laughter. During the critical days of
the Algerian War of Independence, on one occasion when the French Assembly sat
in Marathon session throughout the night debating the political issues of the
Algerian crises, a communist member was holding the floor launching scathing
and violent attacks on the administration. There were shouts and counter shouts
and thumping on the desks. It was a tension filled atmosphere. At this point a
radical member, on seeing a communist member sleeping when the house was in
session, raised the following point of order. “Mr. Speaker, is a member allowed
to sleep while proceedings are going on? Immediately came the speaker’s reply,
‘A member could sleep. There is no harm. But a member cannot snore, for it
would interrupt the proceedings. There was uproarious laughter from all sides
of the house. Tension and passion were relieved and there was laughter and
relief. Just imagine the wonderful healing powers of humor.
When our personal affairs are in pretty bad shape,
we sometimes become moody introverts. We become embittered and unhappy. This
may sap our energy and vitality. On such occasions humor can prove to be a
wonderful healing balm. Let us laugh at our troubles. This is a good way to
overcome our worries. But some people complain that they lack a sense of humor.
It may be true that only very few people possess good humor. Surely all can
understand and enjoy humor. When we lose our sense of humor let us start
reading or listening to something humorous. In our dull, melancholy moments,
let us cultivate the habit of reading something really humorous. One of the
books I invariably lay my hands on is Charles Dickens Pickwick Papers”. The
masterly presentation of situations and characters makes me roll with laughter.
My worries and sorrows are drowned by the laughter which humor evokes.
Humor enables us to cultivate good relationships
with others. People seek and enjoy the company of the humorous. They are
remembered for their humor. Humor makes them endearing to all.
Different people have a different approach to
life. Some people put up with sufferings and difficulties heroically. They
appear calm and collected in the face of hardship. Stoicism is their attitude
towards life. There is yet another type of person who laughs over his troubles.
Humor is an approach to life. When placed in an embarrassing and ridiculous
position let us laugh at ourselves. We should be the victims of our own humor.
It is a healthy philosophy of life. In this way we could stop the premature
graying of our hair, balding of our heads and wrinkling of our facial skin.
Humor enlivens our mind because true humor springs
more from the heart than from the head. While sarcasm sneers and wit laugh at
others, humor makes them laugh and it laughs with them. It is an enviable
quality in any person. People who are humorous are distinctly fortunate. But too
many humors do not come easily.
To be humorous is to live healthily. Here I should
add a word of caution. Misplaced humor can be a source of embarrassment and
irritation to others. Such humor will forfeit all the beneficial effects of
laughter. To be precise humor should have its proper, time and place. Through
intuition we know when to laugh and when not to laugh. When we do not have this
intuition we do not possess humor.