9.06.2007

Who Says?

I'm doing a shout out here.
Do we really need to get away from it all?
Just laugh about it , forget life's difficulties, say 'no' to worry?
Sorta yes, maybe, no, always, never mind?

I'm told that :"laughter is the best medicine" and "laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone"- but is that the only way to split existence?

Go with me on a little exploration:The key factor in all this seems to be that laughter punctures the pompous quality of 'my life is so hard' or 'my life is so different' - it reduces the need to take politics, fashion, sex, and life seriously, and it takes away the isolation. What's the difference between George Bush and a Chinese rug? Well the Chinese rugs lies really well at the expense of underpaid workers, and George Bush lies really well at the expense of...do you think George would look better under the dining room table or in the hallway?

And 'my mother still worries about whether I'll join society like her or not. Last week she sent me coupons for Lean Cuisine, Windex, Estrofix and - she's hoping I'll get thinner, clean more, and enter menopause.

What's the drug in laughter and is it the actual "who me, worry?" quality or is it the release from over concern about the centrifugal sense of me?

Maybe the question to ask is can you get there without laughter. Separating from the ego without the lancet of comedy...well there's meditation, and psychoanalysis, religion. Meditation requires quiet, time, and seclusion. That's not my life at the moment unless I start getting up at 5 AM and pray the helicopters aren't circling. Psychoanalysis takes a long time. Look at Woody Allen....do you think his issues are resolved or even questioned? Sometimes it seems that analysis is forever mired in the moment of 'you're fucked up! yes, I am!' and then that awareness is celebrated as the cause celebre is placed in various contexts. You know what Freud said about humor: that the really good guffaws came from repressed unconscious sexuality and aggression. Kind of takes the funny out.

And religion - turn yourself over to the higher power of your choice and let go of your precious self-involvement. fine, except most often it involves replacing one system with another that may just be just as tightly wound. Maybe I'm missing the ectasy part of the equation - not the tablet, those are just fine ...maybe I'm missing the point where release can happen with a chalice or a prayer.

Did this turn too serious? We need a joke....
A couple of New Jersey hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls to the ground. He doesn't seem to be breathing, his eyes are rolled back in his head. The other guy whips out his cell phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps to the operator: “My friend is dead! What can I do?”
The operator, in a calm soothing voice says: “Just take it easy. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead.” There is a silence, then a shot is heard.
The guy's voice comes back on the line. He says: “OK, now what?“

Ah now where was I?

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