“Good humor is a tonic for mind and body. It is the best antidote for anxiety and depression. It is a business asset. It attracts and keeps friends. It lightens a human's burdens. It is the direct route to serenity and contentment.” - Grenville Kleiser
Merriam Webster dictionary defines Good Humor as "cheerful feelings or attitudes." You may ask: "how do I have a cheerful attitude when constantly assaulted by dispiriting news?" Cheerfulness can begin with the kindling of a spark. I have found one of the quickest ways for me to kindle is first: turn off the evening news, put down the newspaper, or shut down the cell phone or computer. Pause whatever is feeding the agitation, or as we say in the troubleshooting technician world, the "Easter Egg Hunting"! Instead of remaining calm, cool, and collected, technical troubleshooters can often often look like over-excited children frantically running around looking for eggs--it is a type of agitation. In tech school, it's a phrase for pressured or panicked troubleshooting; the longer a system is down, the more pressure you get. You can end up jumping from one possible problem to the next without analysis. So I have learned with my own discouragement to turn off the "agitations" of daily life. Once the agitation has stopped, I will either remember or play a song I associate with a happy time in my life, such as my wedding day or when I was a teenager and first fell in love. That spark can ignite and lift you out of a depressive state into a higher octave, then beyond, to a crescendo of celebration!
I have also started a game with my wife that I learned many years ago as a struggling, discouraged salesman. Whenever we feel anxious about a situation, we will take a pause. I will ask her: "Name me one positive thing that has happened to you today?" She may answer: "I picked a beautiful large red tomato from the garden!" Then she will ask me: "Name me one positive thing that has happened to you today?" This question will go back and forth until we find ourselves filled with gratitude that we are having such a special productive day!
Meditation is another way to shake off anxiety. I call it "making a space". I keep it simple: I pause with whatever time is available at the moment and watch my thoughts, feelings, and the physical phenomenon surrounding me. Making a space takes practice; it takes time to kindle the spark. When I say space, I mean there will be a time when you experience an area that others have called emptiness or void, but I see it as a vacuum state of awareness, where you become the watcher. The watcher becomes aware of all that appears in her periphery as it flows to fill that space. It is much like what a driver in an automobile experiences as the passing scenery appears to move toward the car. The watcher perceives this scenery but otherwise is unaffected by it. Over time with accumulated practice, this "space" becomes a seat of serenity, a synergy of good humor. I like to look at these different practices as if I was on a boat with a sail. Author Sarah Cavanaugh says it much better than I :
"Like the master sailor who uses the powerful energy of the wind to sail her boat where she wants to go, appreciating the direction and force. Never trying to change what she cannot, but using her skill for what is possible on her journey with the tools and knowledge she has."
From the Little Shack-- Bursting with Good Cheer FOR YOU!