The material presented
here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method
to exchange
information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal
level.
Today's reading shares how great it would be if we could add "Sense of Humor" to our grocery list when we're running low. No matter how tough things are, humor can lighten the mood and ease some of the weight of serious challenges.
Today's Reminder: Try to look for the brighter side, the funny side of things rather than the somber. Has a dark mood ever made things better?
"It is usually anxiety that bars us from seeing the lighter, brighter things of life. The anxiety exists within us, so we are free to reject its influence on the way we react to what happens to us."
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I am guilty as charged, can definitely take myself too seriously at times, more so before recovery as I was focused on the shortcomings of others. AlAnon has helped me a lot in this area by not looking for the worst outcomes, but focusing on one day at a time and looking for gratitude.
Love the quote, fear has been the driver behind much of my negative behavior, usually by negative anticipation. Great to remember there is a choice, and with awareness, hard work, and the help of the program, fear's desperate hold can be loosened.
Labor is not the only thing that can be induced, humor can be sought and cultivated. It's also contagious, and one of the few things people are happy to catch... laughter is good medicine, I need to remember to take it today. Grateful for the reminders
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Paul
"...when we try to control others, we lose the ability to manage our own lives." - Paths to Recovery
Good morning, Paul. Thanks for bringing this topic
I do tend toward the serious side of things. My 5th grade report card comment says "much too serious" - so I think I've been working on my seriousness skills for quite a while
I know I can get stuck in the gloomy side of things, and I have coped with that by being intentional about having a sense of humor and building little things in my life that bring me joy. My dogs are a good example of this. Remembering that I can chose to look at the bright side or the dark side of things helps me to keep lightness and laughter in my life.
I hope you have a lovely day!
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Skorpi
If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present. - Lao Tzu
Good Morning Paul and Skorpi I too have been accused of being "too serious"and defended my attitudes by suggesting that life was serious and not accepting this was running away into fantasy.
Working alanon's powerful program such as the Steps and meetings. gratitude and asset lists my attitudes changed and l I could finally see the humor in life, enjoy the simple things, that I found in each day and finally smile and relax on a regular basis.Thanks for your service and have a great day.
Thank you Paul. Just reading this made me smile. I include "spotting humor" on my gratitude list. I must be careful I'm not responding to snarkiness. It has the opposite effect that humor does on me when I feel I have endorsed sarcasm by smirking or laughing at it. My true humor has respect for the "butt" of it, too. Good one.
-- Edited by Jill on Monday 12th of June 2017 11:00:54 AM
Good morning MIP family!! Great daily - thank you Paul for your service the daily. Thanks to Betty & Skorpi for your ESH. I too was a super serious person before recovery - I thought that was 'adulting'......I truly had lost my humor, slowly but surely over the years.
Recovery gave it back to me and HP does a lovely job of throwing 'it' into my life, days, etc. I am well taken care of - anytime I start to get too hyper-focused on someone or something, there is a curve ball thrown into the middle to remind me that living in the present of each day is a gift and is a joy when I can roll with God's plan. I get way too serious whey I exert 'my will' or 'my ego' into God's plan...
Make it a great day - I'm cleaning and cooking and all that which I do when I am entertaining! I have company coming the next 3 Wednesday evenings for a variety of social events - out of my norm but good fun! Adulting for me by day - resting up by night!! (((Hugs)))
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Practice the PAUSE...Pause before judging. Pause before assuming. Pause before accusing. Pause whenever you are about to react harshly and you will avoid doing and saying things you will later regret. ~~~~ Lori Deschene
I have found that this family disease has made me even more serious and less flexible. Less able to see and enjoy humor in everyday life. It is hard to find the funny when you are so full of resentment, fear and anxiety.
This post reminds me that there is indeed humor all around... and I have learned with the program to see it and point it out. Even enjoy it.
There is a very long thread on another forum about "Things a 'Normie' wouldn't know about." At first I read it to find validation. I found it. But as I kept reading I found that I was LOL'ing at many of the posts. Mostly b/c I was right there saying, "Yup, been there!" Then someone posted, "I can't believe I am laughing at these posts... something else a 'Normie' would not do!" And that person was right! Many of my friends have been shocked when I tell them some things about my life and then just laugh about it. I then tell them, "Well, what else can I do about it? I didn't Cause it, and I cannot Control or Cure him, so what else is there? When explained like that, they nod their heads.
That is what this program has allowed me to do... see the humor in what is many times a humorless situation. Sometimes, that in and of itself makes things more livable.
Today my back is acting up, so I tend to be much more serious b/c I am focusing on the pain... thank you for posting this to remind me to focus on something else!
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"The wolf that thrives, is the one you feed." - Cherokee legend
"Hello, sun in my face. Hello you who made the morning and spread it over the fields... Watch, now, how I start the day in happiness, in kindness." Mary Oliver
Interesting. I've been thinking about this topic lately. I feel like my AW and I have really lost touch with our sense of humor and it isn't helping. Thanks for the share.
Thanks for the topic and all the shares. In my youth and most of my adult life, I not only was too serious, but I was stuck in the quicksand of low self-esteem, doom and gloom, and I think it was hard to smile for many years. I took everything to heart (no QTIP), and I just missed the humor in life. I have changed so much! I did lighten up before alanon, but certainly program is the icing on the cake. I can act silly with my granddaughter and she and I have so much fun and laught a lot. Years ago I wrote a story about my FOO and called us the "Robot Family." I still have it and it is quite a remarkable depiction of the people I grew up with. Thanks alanon and all of you! Lyne
When I came into AlAnon my goal was to "be happy again." I had become so serious that I couldn't see the joy in anything around me. I wore a lot of black, so much, that my grown kids commented on it and started buying me colored shirts.
Happily, AlAnon helped me find the fun in life again.
Thanks Paul. This really strikes a chord with me because my sense of humor has really gone by the wayside over the last couple of years...it seems that while I have been working on shedding defects, I seem to have discarded that somewhere along the way as well. A few years ago, when I was battling a particularly dark patch and was struggling to face the world, I remember thinking my sense of humor was what I needed to get me through, so I started making myself read funny books for at least 20 minutes every day whether I thought I felt like it or not. And it really helped..in fact it was quite amazing what an effect it had on my state of mind, confidence and energy levels etc. It might be time to start that habit again!
