A few weeks ago my brother & I watched an episode of Star Talk where astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson interviewed comedian & late night show host Stephen Colbert regarding cosmic ramifications of comedy. As a groupie of both men (& their shows) Virginia did a geeky thing (again) and wrote out a bit of their dialogue to mind munch.

Neil: “To realize that people will listen harder, will care more if they’re laughing with you at what you say. Was this a revelation?”

Stephen Colbert: “Comedy is essentially thinking. It elicits laughter, but that’s not the same thing as emotion. I think that comedy alleviates fog off the mind, because when you’re laughing you can’t be afraid.

And, when you’re not afraid, you think better. Laughter leads to thinking.”

It’s been said, “laughter is the best medicine.” Not sayin’ laughter will take our problems and pain away (pain is pain is pain.) But, it releases good stuff in us. Maybe it helps us think, like Stephen Colbert said, by knocking cobwebs out of our heads and lifting our hearts a few moments with band-aids of comedic relief.

Laughter can lighten us up, or sprawl us out with sidesplitting bellows. It frees us by unclutching our insides and unfolding seriously stern muscles into flexible ones.

A comedic perspective is also a way of getting through the day. My Mama & Papa faced a challenging daily routine for 28+ years (of their 58-year marriage) dealing with Papa’s quadriplegia. Papa couldn’t move anything. Mama had to do everything for him.

I mean, everything.

Instead of bemoaning each little thing (unable to even wipe his nose, there were many) Papa and Mama came up with comedic code words for everything.

“Sweet Baby” meant, ‘can you wipe my nose?’  “Hot lips” meant, ‘can you wipe my lips?’

But, to me, the most hilarious occurred every 3 or 4 days, when Mama would get things ready for “the Party.” A complicated party involving launches (of laxatives & suppositories) & lots of messiness emanating from Papa’s tushi.

Mama would tell visitors, “Oh, I have to go get things ready for the party tonight.” They might think, oh, how nice. They’re having a party.

Not the kind you’d want to attend. Rather a smelly affair.

By making parties out of challenges, Mama & Papa made them lighter. And, laughter helped. Can’t tell you how many times laughter made seriously serious burdens bearable.

My brothers both pun it up regularly. Sometimes I get in a good one, but in the family my record is more like 1 funny one in 5? (As my niece’s gift last year reiterated.) 🙂

This weekend if you’re feeling the onset of the blues (not hard in these challenging times) and bad puns won’t do, try taking time out to read a funny book. To put on some cosmic hilarity grooves, you can check out this recommendation in one of my first blogs (6 yrs ago) about James White’s Galactic Gourmet.

The antics of Cha Trat in Code Blue Emergency are even sidesplitting funnier.

If Sector General hospitals with hundreds of intergalactic species are not your thing, try watching a funny show to give your laughter muscles a work out.

My all-time favorites are BBC’s Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister. Even though I’ve watched each episode countless times, they still make me laugh. Really hard.

All this comedic endeavor justified? To think better cosmically & comically — fear free.

grace, peace & fear-free cosmic comedic grooves

Virginia : )

“A good laugh heals a lot of hurts.” Madeleine L’Engle