07.26.10
Posted in Humor~Business, Humor~Creativity, Humor~Health & Goals, Humor~Inspirational at 4:42 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
I’ve been thinking recently about humor, and why more people don’t think it’s important. Now I know:
Humor is only one part of the equation. And the answer to that equation is ATTITUDE. Attitude is what I call that atmosphere we can generate by using our sense of humor. It’s that light-hearted space where we feel unimpeded. Where we feel free to contribute our ideas, and the place where we do our best work. The environment where we can develop our best selves.
Humor is a big part of that. But so are other things. Like our mind-body connections. Harboring negative attitudes and resentments gradually settles into our physical body. If we don’t acknowledge this facet, no amount of humor will make a lasting impression on our state of mind (and body).
But attitude doesn’t mean we should blithely put a smiley-face on our problems. Doing that can be even more destructive than staying mad! Denial of the neg’s in our life just makes them get bigger, come out in the wrong places, and fester our souls like an acid. Comedian Chonda Pierce talked about her fitting in worn-out and torn Spanx body-shaping wear: “It’s like trying to put the Pillsbury dough back into the can!” Shoving our problems under a smiley mask will just make matters worse.
Look here for more tools to develop not just your sense of humor, but also your ATTITUDE. That over-arching, all-encompassing, omni-present force that shapes our days, rules our lives, and determines our direction.
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07.23.10
Posted in Humor~Creativity, Humor~Health & Goals, Humor~Inspirational at 11:22 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
When I was taking therapy to recover from hand surgery, I got shocked. That tens unit shocking machine felt like someone was burning a cigarette on my arm. I told the therapist, “I think the charge on this is too high. You’d better turn it down.”
He assured me instead that the charge was OK. It was probably some impedance that changed the pH of my skin—like sweat, salt, PMS hormones, anything. So he took a wet paper towel and wiped my arm, then stuck the machine piece back on my arm.
And the pain was gone.
I am a person who has a lot of ideas. A lot. When something goes wrong, I instantly want to throw out the baby and start all over again. Something brand new. Something totally unrelated and different. Surely that will bring success. Or at least take away the pain.
But sometimes the change that’s needed is something so minor that our clever minds miss it. Sometimes we don’t have to throw out the baby. Maybe we just need to change the water.
Humor is our bathwater. The place where we can experiment, make alterations, test the waters. How our babies react to that water will determine the amount of change we can create.
Are YOU throwing out the baby before you test the water?
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07.21.10
Posted in Humor~Creativity, Humor~Health & Goals, Humor~Inspirational at 3:14 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
Yesterday at our yoga class we learned about Santosha. No, not the rock guitarist Santana. This is contentment. An allowing of yourself to just be, accepting yourself. Whether it’s in a difficult yoga pose, or in a difficult situation at work. Just be accepting of, and content with, where and what you are here and now.
The more I thought about Santosha, the more I realized that is where good humor has to start. Sure, bad humor can start anywhere. Negative emotions are great for crafting sarcasm. Negative intentions are necessary for creating blue humor. But I’m talking about good humor. The kind that is not only funny, but uplifting, insightful, and creative.
Because if we don’t have contentment with ourselves, we can’t tap into our innate humor resources.
So how do we cultivate this Santosha?
By going to the gym. That’s where I got a great idea from a guy whose t-shirt read, “I’m a keeper.” At first I thought, “What an egotistical twenty-something jack-ass!” But the more I thought about him in his bragadoccio and obliviousness-inducing i-pod, the more insightful I became.
What if we could ALL wear that t-shirt in our minds. Every day. Knowing that we are “a keeper.” That our ideas are valid, our sense of humor unique, honest and effective. Realizing that we have all we need to accomplish the next step in our life journey. Without worrying or comparing, without scheming or self-sabotage.
I think I achieved Santosha the very next day while I was cancelling my anti-virus subscription. The process was tedious. I had two e-mail accounts going. Couldn’t find my ID code. I was very de-motivated about the entire drama.
Yet as I found the right place on the website to cancel my order, I felt clear. Unworried. Almost at peace. As a chatted online with customer service I was unworried that the task would be taken care of. And as the customer service person signed on, I knew I was on-cue.
His name? Santosh.
He’s a keeper.
I am too.
Are you?
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07.06.10
Posted in Humor~Events, Humor~Health & Goals, Humor~Inspirational at 6:18 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
One of the highlights of HUMOR is risk-taking. That’s exactly what Jason Say and Kyle Schwabenbauer, co-founders of Wired Outdoors, do regularly. Their outdoor show gives hunting a new twist. That’s because behind the outdoorsy facade is a caring and outward-reaching duo.
Their “Hunt of a Lifetime” is a hunting trip for someone with a life-threatening illness. Jason and Kyle regularly host fund-raisers to build their chances of offering these Hunt of a Lifetime trips to as many people as needed.
But that’s not the biggest story. Or that their Wired Outdoors is exactly what good humor should be like: fun, community-concerned, and creative.
The biggest story is their most recent fund-raiser. Held out in the middle of nowhere, their event hosted live bands, raffles, drawings, and food. And of course–fun! Kyle told me they were surprised at the support they’d gotten. The event raised over $20,000 for the Hunt of a Lifetime cause.
And just because these two guys
1. Took a risk and did what was fun and interesting to them
2. Reached out to involve their community
3. Remembered to have FUN.
That’s what all humor can be like. You never know how far you can take your risks when you make FUN the central focus.
For more information on the show, go to www.WiredOutdoors.com
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06.27.10
Posted in Comedy Around The World, Humor~Health & Goals, Humor~Inspirational at 11:12 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
This week’s Comedy Around the World goes to the bike trail. What used to be miles and miles of railroad are now miles and miles of bike trails in Western Pennsylvania.
Occasionally you’ll encounter tunnels that are hard to naviagte. That’s because you can’t always see to the end of them. Especially if there is a bend in the tunnel.
What do you do? You follow the reflectors that line the middle of the bike path. If you keep your eyes on the reflectors, you’ll make it safely to the other side.
Humor is a reflector, too. If we are attentive to the responses we get, we can gradually adjust and fine-tune our contribution. That way, we need never fear that we’ll offend someone with our humor. Why not?
1. We are initiating a connection. A relationship that says, “I care enough (about you) to help you see things more lightly.”
2. We are keeping and allowing perspectives—ours and other people’s. Humor is based on seeing things in a different way. And allowing that our way may not be the most clever!
3. We aren’t taking ourselves too seriously. Even if we may offend, we don’t have to let it ruin our day. We can stay on our toes and constantly adjust. Moving like water, and coming through the other side.
When we keep our eyes on the reflectors that others give us, we can use our humor effectively and make it out of the tunnel safely.
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Posted in Humor~Health & Goals, Humor~Inspirational at 11:08 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
Perspective. It’s hard to recognize and hard to maintain.
Yesterday my boyfriend and I drove along a back rural road, en route to get ice cream. We thought it’d be faster than the direction the GPS was giving us.
All of a sudden, at the crest of the hill we saw flashing lights. Cars were stopped outside a farmer’s cow barn. My boyfriend said, “I think one of them got hit! See how he’s limping running up the hill?”
We felt simultaneously bad for the cow and frustrated at the clock ticking. The ice cream place would be closing in less than 15 minutes!
But we understood–this was probably a typical Saturday night for these hard-working farmers.
Later, at the ice cream place, we ran into friends who had been at the cow barn. They were there helping. To get the cows into the barn.
The cows that had broken the fence. We told our version of the story and they laughed.
Funny how our perspective drives our behavior, motivation, attitude, and actions and reactions.
What if we could recognize every time that our perspective is just one of many. And maybe it could even be—wrong.
Humor helps cushion this realization and allow us to realx into it. Maybe our perspective doesn’t always have to be right. And maybe the cows are all O.K.
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06.25.10
Posted in Humor~Health & Goals, Humor~Inspirational at 3:27 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
On June 4th, I lost my hubcap in Akron. That was the first time that’d ever happened to me. Now my car looks like a ghetto car.
Since I’ve joined the ranks of the hubcap-needy, my awareness has shot up. I feel a strange camaraderie among us. We have something in common.
This is how a humor mind-set starts. We claim the identity of a humorous person.
1. We own our personal sense of humor. I drive a Corolla, my hubcap was specifically for a Corolla. My sense of humor may not make people roll in the aisles all the time. But it’s mine.
2. We become aware of others like us. We are attuned to others’ sense of humor and we take that as it is, rather than take offense.
3. We claim a unified front. We are one of the many in this grouping of humorous people. We share a common characteristic as well as a common goal: to spread humor wherever we can.
What if YOU lost your hubcap. would you
—try to ignore it
—try to hide it
–try to run out and get a new one so you can blend in?
Why not give it some time and enjoy the connection with the other vehicular-challenged. And see how funny THAT is!
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06.23.10
Posted in Humor~Health & Goals, Humor~Inspirational at 2:19 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
Yesterday I spent time at the nursing home. A place most people actively avoid. But it was surprisingly honest, real, and showed me what and how good HUMOR is born.
A nursing home is like a frat house. That’s what my friend, comedian JD Sidley says. Think of it. Both live together in dorms, both have drugs, and both groups play loud music.
My grandma and I went to the activity room to play Uno. Another resident and her son were playing cards there, too. The son commented, “Oh! There’s someone else who likes to play cards. She (mother) is always looking for people to play cards with!” I said, “Yeah, these two should play!”
In the hallway, another resident’s husband gaave my grandma a poem. My mom had wanted a copy of it. The man’s wife had just had a stroke. My grandma reassured him, saying, “When my husband had a stroke, it took a while for him to come back. At least a month! But then he lived for 20 years after that.”
The man talked about how we would probably be able to see the fireworks on the 4th of July from my grandma’s window in her room. He introduced us to his friend from the campground. He’s from Ligonier. Came the whole way here just to visit the man’s wife.
Not only did I have to take some things to my grandma, but I also visited my friend’s dad. He has been hospitalized for over 9 months with serious stuff. His wife has spent every day by his side. She told me yesterday, “I just LIVE to come here to see him every day.”
That hit me hard. Especially as I am relentlessly devising a “purpose”, some was to use my “degree” and be “useful” in this world. Who has time to do otherwise? And does this world even value those who don’t do the same?
While most people feel uncomfortable visiting nursing homes, I felt strangely relaxed. I felt a connectedness that I hadn’t felt in a long time. It was as though everyone had the sense, “we’re in this together.”
I love winter because it too gives me this “in this together” kind of feeling. The midst of dire circumstances is a gift, IF we look at it that way. That’s because these seemingly negative experiences do 5 timportant things for us:
1. They teach us what’s important. Maybe someone’s “purpose” in life has nothing to do with a salary.
2. They connect us to others–we’re all in this together. Even the ones who have the snowmobiles
3. They show us our humanity–both the pleasant and the crappy parts.
4. They break the barriers to our real-ness. My friend’s mom didn’t care what I was wearing or if I needed a haircut. Sometimes all we need to do is just show up.
5. They take us to life’s most fun and enjoyable parts. Because we’re not spending energy on avoidance, and because we are open to all experiences and ready for anything.
May we all get snowed in—even in the dead of summer.
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06.21.10
Posted in Humor~Health & Goals, Humor~Inspirational, www.yourshiningexample.com at 4:50 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
Right now I’m researching yoga mudras so I can teach them to my 98-year-old Grandma. She’s taking therapy to regain her strength after recently being sick. As I read the descriptions of the mudras, I was fascinated.
They are designed to join together the energy areas of the body. At first glance, this stuff seems flaked out. That’s what I thought about acupuncture, too. Until I tried it for myself.
I thought: Why do we label certain things as “good” or “bad”, “acceptable” or “taboo?” when we do that, we lose out on a lot of helpful and useful information.
The more I read the descriptions of the mudras, it hit me. Isn’t this joining of energies something like the closed-chain and open-chain exercises of physical therapy and exercise science? And isn’t the energy coursing throughout the body (prana, chi, or whatever you want to call it) what we “Westerners” call the endocrine system, the nervous system, and other things?
When we close-off our perceptions and opinions, we also close the humor nature that fosters creativity.
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06.20.10
Posted in Comedy Around The World, Humor~Health & Goals, Humor~Inspirational at 6:27 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
This Week’s Comedy Around the World goes to Vienna, Austria. To show how our humor can get quashed.
Recently I’ve been doubting the need for humor. Wondering where my target audience is, and if they are indeed on another planet, as I’ve often suspected. The more I wonder who could use humor, the more de-motivated I become. And the harder I try to market my services to an unavailable and invisible audience. And the more frustrated I become.
Great comedy, huh, folks?
Sounds more like the cycle of perfectionism, doesn’t it? That cycle looks like this: If something isn’t working, we’re taught in our capitalist culture to try harder. Get stronger. Beat the competition. Stay ahead.
Not to examine our path. Not re-think our strategy. Not to ask, “Am I still having fun?”
One of my professors at Penn State, Ian Baptiste, used to rephrase the often-quoted, “If you teach a man to fish….” He would always ask, instead, “Why are we fishing?” Why aren’t we hunting. Or trapping. Or just being a vegetarian and picking some berries?
In the confusion of de-motivation, we don’t often think straight. Or think creatively. We just get into compete mode and stay there. No matter how painful it becomes, or how little fun we’re having.
I used to travel this way. Just covering ground. Seeing how many ‘famous’ buildings and scenery I could see in a winter-long period.
But pretty soon all the cathedrals blended together. Sometimes I would wake up and not remember which country I was in. “You’ve seen one beach, you’ve seen them all,” one of my traveling friends would say. And to this day, that is true. I don’t even like the beach. I’ve seen too many of them. And they really are (or seem, to me) all the same.
But this travel-malaise was brought to a halt when I met a certain person in Vienna. He was one of the many hostel-dwellers that I had met on my six-month Euro-tour. He embodied what humor is all about. He was carefree. Easygoing. Not worried about anything.
I asked him whether he was going to see one of the discounted-ticket shows that the hostel advertised. Or maybe one of the palaces in Vienna. Or—the Stallions?
He didn’t answer “Yes” to any of those. He said he was going to go buy one of the pastries that Vienna is famous for. And then he was going to sit on the steps of one of the opera houses. And just eat the pastry.
I couldn’t believe it! He was wasting precious Euro-time. With centuries-old things to see, we tourists have to move fast here!
But he wasn’t doing that. He was just stepping back, sitting still. And having fun. Are you in a quandry about your next move, your next step or direction? Why not buy a pastry and go to the opera. And don’t forget to ask, “Am I having fun?”
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