Reflections on Marriage: H is for Humor
I first heard the expression “have a laugh” when I read a story from long ago about a woman who was buying a gallon of milk—in a glass bottle—at the BYU Creamery in Provo, Utah. The bottle slipped out of her hands and smashed onto the concrete floor spilling milk everywhere. The woman was terribly embarrassed until a little boy who was standing nearby simply said to her, “Have a laugh!”
The little boy started laughing, she started laughing, and everyone in the store started laughing. Her embarrassment was gone, and everything was okay because of some quick-witted humor. While you can’t change unfortunate circumstances, you can change your attitude. The old saying, “Laughter is the best medicine” is so true.
Image source: Hannah Brooke Photography
H - Humor
Humor
will quickly lighten
your heavy load
when all the
problems of marriage
seem too difficult;
so when everything
starts going wrong,
stop what you
are doing and
have a laugh.
Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop:
but a good word maketh it glad.
—Proverbs 12: 25
Excerpt from ABC’s for a Happy Marriage: A Collection of Original Poetry and Biblical Scriptures
I like this article, If We Can Laugh at It, We Can Live with It by Brad Wilcox. He includes many light-hearted quotes about humor. Here are a few of them along with some of his own thoughts:
Abraham Lincoln struggled with bouts of depression and used humor as therapy. His ability to laugh at himself was revealed during a political debate in which his opponent called him “two-faced.” Lincoln replied, “I leave it to my audience. If I had another face, do you think I’d wear this one?”
President Hugh B. Brown (1883–1975), a counselor in the First Presidency, recognized the value of facing challenges with humor: “A wholesome sense of humor will be a safety valve that will enable you to apply the lighter touch to heavy problems and to learn some lessons in problem solving that ‘sweat and tears’ often fail to dissolve.”
President Gordon B. Hinckley affirmed the value of humor for all: “We’ve got to have a little humor in our lives. You had better take seriously that which should be taken seriously but, at the same time, we can bring in a touch of humor now and again. If the time ever comes when we can’t smile at ourselves, it will be a sad time.”
We all encounter things that seem ugly, inconvenient, even unbearable. We change what we can, but sometimes we simply have to accept and cope with unpleasant circumstances. Humor can be a helpful coping tool.
Humor improves our attitude, strengthens our relationship skills, and helps us successfully cope with challenges. Whether we are experiencing an anxious moment on an airplane, trying to get around sibling rivalry, or just trying to handle the trials of everyday living, humor can be a constructive and beneficial part of our lives. If we can appropriately laugh at it, we can live with it. So go ahead and laugh—it’s good for you!