I realize that humor isn’t for everyone. It’s only for people who want to have fun, enjoy life, and feel alive. ~Anne Wilson Schaef
People sometimes tell me I have a good sense of humor.
But what does sense of humor really mean?
Is a sense of humor similar to the sense of touch? Does it imply a person has enough sense to understand humor? Or does it hearken back to the days when a person’s health and mood were thought to be governed by the four humors—in which case an ill-humored person was a chronic grouch due to unbalanced fluids.
Most likely, the sense of sense of humor comes from the use of “sense of” to mean a “feeling of” or “recognition of” some abstract concept, such as a sense of justice, or sense of shame. So then, sense of humor means an “appreciation of”, an “awareness of”, or a “notion of” the humor in a situation.
This seems to be the idea in the OED definition of humor as: “The faculty of perceiving what is ludicrous or amusing…”
Ditto for this definition:
Humor is perhaps a sense of intellectual perspective: an awareness that some things are really important, others not; and that the two kinds are most oddly jumbled in everyday affairs. ~Christopher Morley
It’s all about perspective
Humor gives us a sense of perspective, a way to determine what is serious and what is not-so-serious, which is important because life tends to mix the two together in odd and unexpected ways. A sense of humor gives one the ability to see the ludicrous or the amusing in the midst of the serious and worrisome. We need that ability, I think, to get through life. As Mahatma Gandhi put it:
If I had no sense of humor, I would long ago have committed suicide.
Why? Because humor gives the realities of life a better—and more bearable—spin.
Humor is the antidote to over thinking. It’s a way of saying that life is paradoxical. Humor contains contradictions; it does not resolve them but revels in them. It says that the right way to exist among the contradictions, paradoxes, and absurdities of life is to cope with them through laughter. ~Bob Mankoff (emphasis added)
Or, to put it more directly:
You may not be able to change a situation, but with humor you can change your attitude about it. ~Allen Klein
And sometimes, changing out attitude is the best thing we can do.
Give me real life, with a side of ridiculous
I am glad that God gave me a keen sense of humor. I have always been able to find the absurd or amusing in life. I have, however, I’ve learned to keep most of these insights to myself, because: A- sharing a funny insight in the middle of a sermon or lecture is rude, B- sometimes explaining the preposterous juxtaposition my brain came up with is too much work (this has dawned on me after years of blank stares), and C- humor is very much an individual taste. What strikes me as hilarious may not amuse the person next to me.
That’s OK, because there’s more than enough absurdity to go around. Whatever strikes your particular funny bone, I hope you choose to see it in the world around you, because:
A well-developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your steps as you walk the tightrope of life. ~William Arthur Ward
If you’re anything like me, you can use a little help with that balance thing. Personally I’d rather obtain it though laughter than through doing planks and tummy crunches. Wouldn’t you?
May your day be filled with bad puns, clever New Yorker cartoons, silly quotes from a four-year-olds, funny dog videos, or whatever else brings a little laughter to your day.
J'nell Ciesielski says
I always think of amusing things in the least opportune situations. Church, elevators, talking with someone who doesn’t have a sense of humor. And I have a terrible poker face at trying to hide it.
Lisa says
I’m glad I’m not the only one who sees funny things at inopportune moments. But I’d rather be that way than not see them at all.
CarolK says
Me three. And with the same bad poker face. And I can relate to Lisa’s A, B, and C points about learning to keep it to yourself most of the time. I sure do miss the sense of humor of the crowd we hung out with at college. It is a rare thing.
Lisa says
That almost sounds like you actually understood my odd sense of humor. Oh wait, you did! That’s why we were roommates. Miss you. 🙂
Lisa says
BTW, Thanks to a reader for sending me the quote from Bob Mankoff that got me thinking about this in the first place.
Donna L.H. Smith says
I’m glad I developed a sense of humor when I was a kid. I learned to laugh at myself, and when I did, I started to see humor all around me. I love the grumpy cat, because I think it’s an unusual expression. And how scary is it to understand Jack Sparrow? Fun post, thanks Lisa.
Lisa says
And isn’t life easier to bear when you can laugh. I wouldn’t have it any other way, even if I do occasionally relate to Jack Sparrow.