We all tend to have a short fuse in today's world.  The speed-up caused by industrialization, globalization and technology is the invisible hand that directs our every move.  Without knowing this, we blame who or what we can see in front of us.  Usually they are those people closest to us.  

But what if we took a different approach, like the one in today's Comedy Around the World segment from my Istanbul, Turkey, trip. 

This trip was the first overseas flight I'd taken in nearly ten years.  The timing was off.  I had deadlines, upcoming conferences and shows--it would be too inconvenient to go.  And besides, I would have to pack luggage and I didn't want all that hassle.  Ten years on dry land had made me very comfortable.   

But travel is the opposite of comfort.  It's the opposite of control.  The very best trips I've ever taken were those where I didn't know where I'd stay.  Just land and figure it out, I told myself.   

So I reminded myself about those trips.  This trip to Turkey could be just as fun, if I'd stay open.  I started by ignoring the amount of time I'd have to wait at JFK airport in New York.  Instead, I would watch for all the good-looking people and hope they were famous so I could get more pictures for my website Photo Gallery.  With this kind of mindset, anything could happen.  There was electricity in the air. 

We can use this strategy to add humor to our lives.  Merely by staying open to it.  Open to seeing the opportunities for humor to create itself in our daily world. 

Jujitsu is a sport where the athlete allows his or her opponent to defeat him- or herself.  The athlete uses the opponent's own strength against him.  How?  Be being open, and--literally--by rolling with the punches.  There is no force, no resistance, no self-protection.  Just moving with the flow of one's opponent, and not viewing this as a struggle.  Just allowing humor to happen, not looking for it, not forcing it, not even creating it. Just catching it when it appears.  "Get Your SHINE Together!"