Laugh together and bust stress.
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Man creates humour. Maybe it is a naturally evolved mechanism to relieve stress and balance the stability of mind. The physical effect of humour, in turn, relaxes the body as well. Francis Bacon said, “Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not, and sense of humour to console him for what he is.”
The report of a study in the U.S., published in the Journal of Aging Research in June 2010, says jokes and funny stories have a therapeutic effect on patients. It exhorted nurses and healthcare professionals to use humour therapy as a means of reducing loneliness as well as increasing happiness and life satisfaction in the elderly.
Communicating humour is a skill. A person with a nose for wit creates jokes and communicates them effectively through words, actions or both for others to enjoy. The creator enjoys both the humour and the appreciation of the listeners. That way it is a bonanza for him. A joke needs to be presented in an apt manner, with minimum appropriate words without losing the punch by elaborating. The timing of the shot is also very important. Untimely joke may cause embarrassment. So it is not everybody’s cup of tea. An excellent joke becomes a dull story in the hands of an unskilled guy. There is a saying that a joke is no more a joke when it hurts somebody. Often jokes cracked in friendly groups are sarcastic in style which should be limited to levels not to offend anybody.
All of us can enjoy jokes. Listening to funny stories by habitual jokers, reading humorous writings and watching comedy programmes are all sources of getting a daily quota of humour to laugh away the inevitable stresses and tensions. Charlie Chaplin, the man who made the whole world laugh, said “a day without laughter is a day wasted”.
Even those who are unskilled in expressing jokes can generate and enjoy humour for themselves. Passively watching the actions of other people around in a public place, one may find many a funny scene to enjoy. I have often felt that homeless people relaxing in their evenings beside footpaths enjoy the fun in watching busy bees moving in endless hurry.
Sometimes humour is produced unawares. Here is an example. A security officer in a company was caught red-handed by other staff when he was taking home some used packing materials for personal use. He asked, “Everyone takes these things unhampered, then why do you stop me alone?” He forgot for a moment that he was the person responsible to avert any pilferage.
With a dose of joke, anger may turn into smile and quarrel can end up in laughter. There is a popular jingle of an adhesive which says “joins everything except broken hearts”. Humour joins even broken hearts.
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