My first genuine, TV sitcom-style, spit-take came courtesy of a bit of inane banter among radio show hosts on a recent morning drive to work.
Luckily, I was stopped at a red light when it happened.
While I somehow was able to avoid spraying the inside of my windshield, I did manage to soak the front of my pants with hot coffee, half-and-half and, of course, spit.
No matter. These days, I’ll take a good laugh wherever I can get it.
There’s no point in repeating the line here – its moment has passed (like I could remember it if it was an hour ago).
It kept me chuckling for the remainder of my commute and right now that, in itself, is worth its weight in slow-roasted coffee beans.
We’ve been through a lot over the past few years. Most obviously, COVID – the virus itself and the societal divisions it’s revealed (not created, they were always there) – has been a problem. Then, presumably because we appeared to be getting a bit of a handle on that, Mother Nature tossed in a little monkey pox(!) and polio(!!) for good measure.
In non-viral news, we have the ongoing political upheaval among our southern neighbours trickling across the border, a devastating war in Ukraine, a food crisis in Africa, China’s sabre-rattling, melting ice caps, heat-related deaths, raging wildfires, pollution of our air, water and land, mass graves at former residential school sites and some pretty repugnant acts of racism.
Closer to home, we’re seeing an upsurge in random stranger attacks, often tied to mental health, as well as a rash of fatal drug overdoses and gang-related killings. Then there’s the affordable housing crisis and skyrocketing inflation.
At this point, we’re all just living inside a Billy Joel song.
One Peace Arch News reader noted in a recent letter to the editor, that the paper seems to be especially full of angst these days. It can certainly seem that way, though we do try to strike a balance and share as much good news as bad.
The stress bad news creates is devious. It can take a physical toll as well as a mental one. In addition to irritability, sadness, guilt and negative thinking, it can lead to heart disease, some types of bowel disease and even herpes, according to the government of Canada’s webpage on mental health. One assumes they mean an outbreak of herpes – I don’t want to meet the virus that can enter the body via heightened cortisol levels.
That’s why it’s important – even as we seek peace, compromise, cures or solutions – to take regular breaks from the bad news and actively search for something to laugh about, regardless of how idiotic it might be.
A well-timed laugh solves nothing, but it can make the terrible more bearable. Having friends who make you laugh is not just beneficial, but vital. Of course, not everyone is lucky enough to have their own roster of court jesters on speed-dial. Happily, the world is full of sharp-witted people, and today their wry observations are more accessible to the rest of us dullards than ever before.
I’ve been known to rant about the bubbling cesspool that is social media – and, generally speaking, I stand by that assessment – but alongside the trolls, some of the wittiest folks out there are hard at work every day on Twitter, TikTok and YouTube.
Because it’s social media, you’re going to have to wade through a river of vitriol to uncover the gems, but if you curate your feed to bring you more joy than misery (and steer clear of the comments section), it actually has the power to make your day a little bit better.
If you find you can’t stop doom-scrolling, you can always go analog – scrub down your dad’s old bathroom joke book with whatever’s left of those Clorox wipes you hoarded in the spring of 2020 and flip through a few pages instead.
Finding reasons to smile is an ongoing effort, but with everything that’s going on in the world right now, I’d argue it’s crucial.
Next time things get a little heavy, as they inevitably will, make it a point to track down something that tickles your funny bone and feel free to laugh until you wet your pants.
Brenda Anderson is editor of the Peace Arch News.
newsroom@peacearchnews.com
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