On forgetting how to laugh.

When people get upset, it's usually at a moment when they take life too seriously. So I try to calm them. By being funny. Light-hearted. Silly. If I'm even slightly annoyed, I try to start acting like a stand-up comedian. I poke fun at myself. Because that's what I deserve. For taking myself too seriously. Serious people tend to be worry-warts. They focus on the possibility of things going wrong. Such as the sky falling. Things that'll never happen. But still, they worry. In rather serious ways. And I immediately see that as funny. Uproarishly funny. But they don't. Because they've forgotten how to laugh. Especially at themselves. --Jim Broede