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Wake Up
Laughing
by Swami
Beyondananda
What kind of fool am I? What kind of
fool do you think I am? Why do fools fall in
love? Am I fool number one or am I fool number
two? Yes, it seems we human beings have been
asking foolish questions about the nature of
existence since long before the Top 40. So let
me clear it up for you here and now: Life is a
cosmic comedy and we’re on a fool’s journey.
Am I serious? No. But I used to be. I
was a serious fool until I realized how
foolish seriousness can be. If you don’t
believe me, you can look it up. What is human
history if not a chain, chain, chain, chain of
fools? No kidding. A guy preaches love thy
neighbor, and they nail him to a cross. Now
that’s foolish. Not to mention all of those
heretics. You think there’s sage burning today
-- back in the Middle Ages, they burned sages
all the time. What foolishness!
Don’t get me wrong. Being fooled can be
fun. Ask any toddler enjoying a game of
peekaboo, or a child watching a magic trick,
or an adult reading a good mystery. But when
we get tricked into believing unbelievable
nonsense that keeps us small and unhappy, well
that is the time to wake up laughing -- to
create that good hearty laughter to help us
turn the funk into function -- and leave the
junk at the junction.
Now I’m not one of those fools who
believes that laughter solves every problem.
Only a 100% absurdified USDA (U.S. Dept. of
Ascendancy) master would find everything
funny. But laughter sure does help. So next
time you get the feeling that the Creator is
toying with you, remember that you have choice
in the matter -- you can become a creative
plaything. And the next time you find yourself
caught up in a drama and have totally lost
track of the laugh track, remind yourself that
life is a comedy of situations -- and you’re
just having an episode.
Now it is true, that the world is in a
grave state. That’s the bad news. The good
news is, the best way to overcome gravity is
with levity. So I recommend that you make it a
habit to wake up laughing.
It has been said that the Fooly-Realized
Ones are able to laugh at the very first
instant they wake up in the morning -- or at
least the first moment they catch a glimpse of
themselves in the mirror. There’s no reason
why you can’t do the same.
If the thought of looking at yourself in
the morning seems horrifying, try this:
Pretend you are looking at someone else. The
worse you look, the harder you will laugh. As
you laugh, you will begin to look better and
better until you no longer look funny enough
to laugh at. When you stop laughing on your
own accord, you have dispersed the laugh force
throughout your body and you are able to start
the day on a full head of esteem!
Remember too that laughter is the
currency of joy ... so pay it forward. Take
those jokes from the internet and share them
on the outernet. There’s nothing like watching
a joke detonate right in front of your eyes.
And you don’t need to memorize long,
complicated jokes, either. Short jokes are
fine. Humorologists tell us that it isn’t the
length of the joke that matters, it’s how much
pleasure it gives. A good joke proliferates
and nourishes like manna. Think about it. One
person arrives with a good joke, and dozens
leave with it!
And when nothing at all seems funny?
Well, then that is the time to laugh at
nothing at all! Because no matter how bleak
things seem, I can reassure you the Farce is
always with us.
Scientific studies show that life is
more fun when we laugh -- so may we wake up
laughing, and may we laugh, laugh, laugh until
the sacred cows come home.
Copyright ©2001 by Steve Bhaerman. All rights
reserved.
Read also:
"Who
Is Swami Beyondananda"
and
more
articles from the Swami
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