God has a sense of humor (SOH) (for wonderfully selfish reasons)
by Marcia Singer, MSW
God has a sense of humor — or should we say, Sense of Humor? I mean, it’s showtime, isn’t it? S/He made the world, right?! Inspired every joke and every comedy routine of every standup in Los Angeles? Prodded every writer of every book, movie, tv show or printed article that had a character with a sense of humor? Provided the wherewithal, maybe even provoked you to chuckle over your friend Marta’s sagging chin laments? God is Omnipresent and Omniscient, isn’t S/He? Everyone knows that. Who Else could be responsible for all the laughs, giggles, chuckles, smirks and guffaws? The smiles and belly laughs happening each moment –right this moment! — someplace in the world? Who else had the foresight to provide the playful teasing and cosmic relief humanity needs to balance out the heavy drama, the ungodly seriousness of day-to-day planetary existence?
Being humorous feels good. That’s one good way to know it is good, good for you, and something God approves of. Of course, God could be playing a trick on us all, or teasing us,and that ion the really, really trueful scheme of things is a total disaster, and we’re really going to just die, and that’s the end, and there’s no meaning to it all, and… ! Life could just be a superlatively bad cosmic joke, with God having the last Laugh.
Then again, maybe giving us a sense of humor is our Creator’s way of sharing the “Bigger Picture.” Haven’t you notice that seeing humor in Aunt Nell’s consternation over her burned dinner roast or cousin Mort’s mid-life crisis is an indication that you know this situation is not the end of the world?
Throughout time, creative people (that’s anyone during a flash of creativity) have ‘profaned’ the ‘sacred.’ Satire, parody — or tickling Bobbie Jean’s feet when she’s cranky — are offered as guides through the pains, trials and oh-woe-is-me’s of our lives. To see that there’s more to it. More than meets the veiled eyes. Artists, thinkers, sages and other inspired souls throughout history have pointed at the seeming tragedies of individual people and found a ‘lighter side,’ and have done so with love, respect and appreciation for our human condition. They saw through our entangled beliefs in personal loss, limitation, lack or scarcity, punishment, ‘bad karma,’ and even damnation! Into a blessed space in which to breathe easier. Even in the death camps, during the holocaust, enslaved Jews put on little shows in which actors mimicked the soldiers who tormented them, while those soldiers stood in the wings, laughing along with the Jewish audiences, so the tale has been told.
H-U-M-O-R is how God spells r-e-l-i-e-f. The fact that it’s impossible to genuinely laugh while you’re being ‘negative’ and ’victimized’ proves that a sense of humor belongs to the ‘positive’ side of our thought and ideation process. The state of being, or consciousness that permits us to laugh is a place near ‘center’ for each of us. Ever notice how good it feels to feel good, lol? How much closer to Source and the Maker you know you are, at those times?
So, do yourself –and God — a favor. Do lots of things to get and stay on center, and to foster and nurture your very own SOH. Your playfulness, spontaneity and trust belong to your Grace. Don’t suppress those belly laughs, those wHoly outbursts and outreaches into the Cosmos. The galaxy needs good vibes. And when you find yourself walking on eggs around someone else’s suffering and seeming bad luck, check out what you both maybe can’t laugh at — yet. What you consider to be ‘deadly serious.’ And know that to be that serious is deadly! Love yourself more.
Remind yourself that God has a sense of humor. And if S/He can afford to, so can you.
[Originally published in Karmakaze Magazine, 1989?, Los Angeles]
