Serenity Prayer For Laughter
“Through humor you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be you can survive it.” Unknown. Humor is definitely a survival tool. But it can also be a thriving tool. I love finding the humor of a situation.
20+ years ago, my mother was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. A nine centimeter tumor was attached to one lung, wrapped around her main aorta and attached to the other lung. No operations could help her. The radiation was able to slow it down, and buy her one year. The last two and one-half months, my aunt, her best friend and myself formed a team of taking care of her 24/7 because she had become bedridden. We are a funny bunch and so we found these t-shirts at the Hallmark store and wore them all of the time. Our reason was to break up the tension that would form when our friends and relative came by to visit and basically pay their last respects.
When they would visit they never knew what to say, so they would ask her how she was doing. She was dying of cancer, how do you answer that question? My mom didn’t want to talk about her pain, as she didn’t want to bring the energy down. She wanted to share fun memories, and find something to laugh about. So that is what we did, we found the humor in dying of lung cancer. I am sure that some thought that we were strange, but what it did was to give me a wonderful gift. I had the privilege of making my mom happy, right up to the end. I discovered the true meaning of finding the gold in any situation. I really was fine.
Every time you find humor in a situation, you win at life. Reality has unintended humor laced throughout it. It is up to us to find the thread and pull it. “I think the next best thing to solving a problem is finding some humor in it.” Frank A Clark. Life is really made up of small things, tiny moments. That was my big discovery in taking care of my mom. Those tiny moments can be saved. Then you pull them out when you need them. A touch, a smile, laughter. Laughter that is so hard that it actually hurts your stomach. The kind of memories that even now you giggle over.
Think of those movies that make you laugh. Martin Short in Pure Luck. The Pink Panther movies. T.V shows like Fawlty Towers with John Cleese. The kind of shows that you have watched so many times, that you start laughing before the scene actually starts. Don Knotts and Tim Conway in any movie they made. The Carol Burnett Show. These are all my list. What’s on yours?
So my encouragement to everyone is to look for the humor, laugh at life. Laugh at yourself. Experience life as it is meant to be lived. Write your own story like Martin Short, Bill Murray, or Steve Martin is going to be producing and acting in your life as a movie. Live your life like it is your favorite story from childhood – the one that you read over and over again. I have read The Lord of The Rings series so many times. I am riding across the plains with Gandalf, fighting the battles and winning the victory. I mourn the losses and I get right back on the horse to ride forth again and again. It is the journey that tells me who I am and who I am becoming.
The Laughing Heart by Charles Bukowski
“Your life is your life
Don’t let it be clubbed into dark submission
Be on the watch
There are ways out
There is a light somewhere
It may not be much light but
It beats the darkness
Be on the watch
The gods will offer you chances
Know them
Take them
You can’t beat death but
You can beat death in life. Sometimes
And the more often you learn to do it
The more light there will be
Your life is your life
Know it while you have it
Your are marvelous
The gods wait to delight
In you”
In closing, I invite you to check out our free 2017 LemonadeMakers calendar. Just click home on this webpage and you will see our free offer. It is made up of our audiences favorite graphics from our blog posts. Have a Happy Holiday and wishing all of your an Amazing New Year.
