In case anyone reading these blogs hasn’t figured it out yet, I often use comedy as a coping medicine. They say laughter is the best medicine, and often times, I find myself cracking jokes to alleviate the tensions and stressors brought on by life. I laugh to diffuse awkward situations, I laugh to spark up conversations, and I laugh to mask the tears, but I truly feel that doing so has allowed me a reprieve of sanity. Is it perhaps a bit juvenile of me to scroll through my feeds on social media to look for memes? Perhaps, but it also has the added bonus of keeping me from breaking down into murderous fits of rage and strangle an innocent bystander so there’s that. Truth of the matter is we are born into this life with a certain allotment of fucks to give, and I just happen to be fresh out.
Let me tell you how absolutely freeing it is to just not give a flying rat’s fart about the things in life you can not control. If a problem arises that I can fix, then I will go forth and do that and do my best to refrain from dwelling on the negative. If a problem arises that is beyond my control, then why fret about it since nothing I do can alter the outcome and therefore I should just roll with the punches and let it slide off my shoulders. Now, please don’t read this post thinking I actually have my shit together and know how to “adult” my way through stressful situations. Most of the times I’m about as put together as a child’s kindergarten project; forever a chaotic mess doused in copious amounts of glitter. However, I find that the more things I find to laugh about, the happier I am. This includes laughing at my own expense, because let’s be honest, I’m a hot mess. After a brutal training session I could be easily confused with Sloth from the Goonies and it is legitimately hilarious. But I know that it’s all because I worked hard to attain that level of “beauty” and I am benefiting myself in the long run. Looks may fade, but the memory of a brutal d’arce choke is forever.
The greatest thing about laughter is that it’s contagious. Amusement spreads like wildfire and runs rampant through our gym. We are always posting Jiu Jitsu memes in our Facebook group and sharing jovial quirks with one another. The thing is, negativity can spread just as fast and quell and extinguish the flickering flames of a comedic inferno. Which is why the atmosphere and culture inside of a dojo is so important. As my professor says, the attitudes and behavior begin at the top and trickle down, and as an instructor, certain attributes you posses will be emulated. Light-hearted banter is encouraged, while downright ridicule is not allowed. You should feel comfortable in your gym’s environment and not made to feel like an outsider. These people are like family and joking with them is an incredible feeling. They say that you don’t laugh because you’re happy, but that you’re happy because you laugh, and I honestly couldn’t agree more. It keeps all of us young, happy, and alive.
Laughter is like an orgasm for your smile. Why deny yourself one of life’s most succulent pleasures!? If you’re clamoring for any reason to chuckle, just ask to see my “waltz” impression because apparently I look like a grandma with arthritic maladies and osteoporosis. In my defense, I always hated milk so that could have possibly attributed to my lack of bone growth, but I digress. I use comedy to teach, like describing how to sweep an opponent by slapping through their body with your pelvis as if you are an extra dancing on top of cafeteria tables like in the movie ‘Fame’. The visual imagery helps get the point across, I promise. I enjoy making others laugh. I like the happiness it brings. And if I look like and idiot for doing what I’m told is “slightly dramatic” re-tellings of stories and conveying of messages, then so be it. I was truthful in saying that my field of fucks is now barren and the seeds of self deprecation are much more abundant anyways.
Laugh hard and laugh often. Try and find one thing each day that brings some humor to your life and you will be all the more happier for it. I love to unwind after a long day by watching a hilarious stand up special on Netflix. Sitting there, laughing with my family, tears streaming down our faces, and throwing our heads back with glee will be such a fond memory I look back on as the years pass. The lines and wrinkles that form on my face will be due to years of laughing instead of stressing. I am on this Earth for such a limited amount of time that I choose to be happy while I’m here. Even if I have to instigate the humor myself with terrible puns (I still think I’m hilarious), then so be it. Laugh until your belly aches, your eyes sting with tears, and your drink comes out your nose. Stop handing out your fucks like a drug dealer handing out samples of smack to entice addicts. Simply run out of any spare ones to give and watch your mental and physical health soar. The only thing I’m handing out is ass whoopings, and the journey to get there will be riddled with hilarious anecdotes along the way. No more free fucks to give. Be the high class escort in a world of street hookers. Be the Derrick Lewis in a world of McGregor’s and Khabib’s. No one has ever died from laughter, but many have died without ever laughing. Don’t sweat the small stuff; live your life to its fullest and laugh until it hurts.
