Are You Funny?
I read a quote recently that said you are finally a grownup when you can laugh at yourself. Whether or not that’s true (I think it’s children who are good at this, and adults need to relearn it), this is a beautiful quality. It lightens things up and lets us reach a higher place.
Last week I was in my studio practicing, and for some reason I was in a mood where everything seemed funny.
Right at the height of it, this girl called from a credit card company. We chatted back and forth a bit, and I liked her accent so I asked her where she was from. She said Guatemala, and I said, “oh, cool.” in an awkward, clueless way. For some reason, this immediately struck us both as so funny we could barely finish the call. We were both pushing down the urge to burst out laughing, which of course made it more outrageously funny. I can’t say why this happened, except that it was just in the air.
I think I brightened her day a little, and made an actual connection with a human being. It felt good.









17. July, 2007 at 17:35
Hey Tristan,
What a great anecdote — I can just imagine the two of you, both bursting into laughter on the phone..
-d
22. July, 2007 at 14:47
It was fun. It felt good.
4. September, 2007 at 13:09
[…] L. Sullivan presents Are You Funny? posted at Imagine, saying, “…laugh at yourself… children seem to me to have a […]
6. September, 2007 at 00:41
Thanks for sharing this experience. Laughter is so healing.