The death of Robin Williams this week has me pondering the nature of humor. Why do we laugh to begin with? Is it just a neurological response to incongruity that we have evolved in order to better absorb the blows that life delivers? Ive also begun to scrutinize my desire to “be funny.” Is my sense of humor just a shield to deflect life’s unpleasantries? Attention-seeking behavior? An altruistic desire to make other people feel good? An (almost) unconscious reflex? Probably all of the above. All I know is this: it is in the middle of a bout of boisterous laughter that I feel most at home in this crazy and unpredictable world of contradictions. Perhaps laughter, then, is the embracing of absurdity and the acceptance that we are a part of it whether we like it or not.
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 17:23:52 +0000
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