Comedy in truth

I have this book on my shelf called, "Truth in Comedy," a great book, considered by some to be the bible of improv theater. Del Close's idea is that comedy comes out of reality. He's right. There are funny things happening right underneath our noses. It's just a matter of paying attention to them or stopping to think about our day. After all, how many times have we told another person (spouse, friends, co-worker) about our day and we find ourselves laughing at what happened. If we get out of our own little worlds and out of our heads and deal with the moments of reality around us, we may find ourselves laughing daily at the oddities and complexities of life. Now, I am not saying that we laugh at people. That's just cruel. I never want to laugh at someone...I want to laugh with someone about the reality of the moment.

Life's too serious to take seriously. There is joy and laughter right under our noses.

For example, this morning I helped by son get his cereal. One way I motivate him to eat is to point out that I am eating the same thing he is eating. So I said this morning, "Look Ethan, daddy's eating this cereal and so is Ethan!" Ethan says, "Yeah!" and sticks his spoon into the bowl pulling out a few fake apple jacks (we go with the generic Target brand cereal). Now, Ethan didn't make me burst out in laughter, but his voice and his simple excitement when he realized that he and I were eating the same thing, brought a smile to my face and a chuckle to my throat. What a great way to start the day.