A WORD ABOUT HUMOR...

... and even that headline in itself is funny. When did I ever limit myself to a single word when I could enjoy the adrenalin rush of a series of extra words.

I've learned from people like Chaplin, Sid Caesar and other greats (and from books or interviews) that humor doesn't necessarily mean jokes, funny lines, shticks or pieces of business. Humor means coming to terms with the foolishness, the nonsense, the crazies and unfairnesses of every day living experiences.

"A Laugh and a shudder come from the same place."
-Charlie Chaplin

Without a sense of humor a person is dull. Unfortunately many people in business think that a contained, critical, sour, practical style will project high intelligence and true leadership. That concept in itself is funny. And a good laugh can be had by watching how these starched personalities cultivate dullness, hiding any lightness of heart and mind until humor is hopeless lost. These are the people who create stifling workplace environments; these are 'mean' people in the original Scottish sense of that word. "Mean" was originally defined as stingyness and some people are stingy with praise and appreciation of the value of others. Humor and laughter is of itself generous, inclusive, and appreciative of humanity. Humorless people poison every environment.

The way a writer makes a dull character lively is by adding a bit of humor to his character. In the theater, and I believe it works just as well in real life, as soon as a character is shown to possess a sense of humor, he/she won't appear dull anymore - and is no longer a bore to audiences.

"The 11th Commandment (the one that got chipped off the tablet when Moses tripped on his way down the mount) is:
"Thou shalt not be a bore."
-Arynne Simon

To avoid the dull and lifeless be sure you hang out with people who have a strong sense of humor. I believe it's up to each of us to find daily opportunities for injecting humor into the workplace and into our relationships - to give life and work the seasoning it needs - the salt and pepper and chives and chili pepper and thyme.

As I write this "editorial" I realize that I didn't find many ways to laugh today - I lost my giggle - and so I am very tired. Tomorrow I vow is live and laugh! Perhaps by selecting this topic I'm getting ready for a better day. Yes, indeed, laughter can be lost. One must be determined to reinvent it every day.

Be warned - most of us work and live under great pressures with real stresses - serious ones, important ones - in addition to the ones we fantasize. But when we lose our ability to see life in full color, from the perspective of the ridiculous - we're headed for dull, for depression, for boring. I know a corporate leader who believes in setting accurate measurements before starting any work. I've learned from him that it's impossible to succeed if the measurements that are set are inaccurate.

These days he is under great pressure to succeed with a start-up company. The venture capital honchos are looking over both his shoulders and the know-all consultants are breathing down his brain. His measurements are all of the financial metric, IPO, and share price variety - and he's fast losing his ability to see the ridiculous side of it all. I have suggested that one of his personal measurements should be the ability to laugh, to joke, to celebrate the far-out chaos of it all - even as he continues along the same work path. But he has no time for fun.

This charming man is fast becoming a drone and he is brilliant enough to wake up one day bored with himself and wondering how and when it happened.

Shakespeare's kings had Jesters who could, amidst the court intensity, remind the King of the foolishness surrounding him. A Jester, navigator of the soul, needs to live within each of us unless or until we can hire one.

As for laughter itself, which may indicate a sense of humor but not always, it can at times become an act or sign of courage. In my view, to laugh when it hurts is true courage. Wow - that line deserves a box and since it's my newsletter - here goes!)

" To laugh - especially when it hurts - is true courage."
-Arynne Simon

The amazing fact is that through levity - and by taking yourself and the problems you face less dramatically you will enhance your skills of serious decision-making. I'm not the only one who believes in the power of humor and what it can do for intellectual balance, physical health, and emotional fitness:

HERE ARE SOME QUOTES

"I called myself king of comedy, but I was a harassed monarch. I worked most of the time so I set evenings aside for laughing."
-Mack Sennett

"I start every morning reading the New York Times obituary page. If my name isn't in it I start laughing and then I get dressed."
- Alan King

"Having a sense of humor doesn't always mean the ability to laugh at other people's jokes - it is rather the ability to laugh at yourself. The worst thing about being me is that people always want me to make them laugh"
-Jack Lemmon

"I don't think the intelligence reports I get are all that hot. Some days I get more out of reading the newspapers."
-John F. Kennedy

"The basic fact about human existence is not that it is a tragedy, but that it is a bore - unless we do something about it."
-H.L.Mencken

"Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility."
-James Thurber"

"Always forgive your enemies-nothing annoys them so much."
-Oscar Wilde

"I always wanted to go into politcs but I was never light enough to get on the team. "
- Art Buchwald

"I remain just one thing and one thing only-and that is a clown. It places me on a far higher plane than any politician because I know I'm a clown."
-Charlie Chaplin