Episode 45: Laughing The Pain Away

"We don't know what the next man's going through/wish I could say it in a plainer way/I said, we don't know/life reminds me of Robin Williams/we've got to laugh the pain away."

                                     -CeeLo Green, "Robin Williams"

   I remember the day Robin Williams died. I remember especially how much it hurt to find out that it was a suicide. I remember my friend who idolized comedians being so grief-stricken he refused to believe it was a suicide. He argued with me, and sent me an article from a sketchy "news" site suggesting that it was a murder. And I don't blame him. It is horrible to know that a man who brightened so many lives and brought so much joy was personally fighting such a darkness. To know that a man who changed lives for the better took his own is awful.

   I think it speaks to something we all do. We all make jokes and laugh at other's jokes to make the pain we feel easier to take. I do it a lot. I make a lot of jokes and my sense of humor is one of the things I value most about myself. But I make jokes as a defense mechanism. Laughing makes pain easier to deal with. And I know that if I can make someone else laugh, I am distracting them from whatever they're suffering from, even if for just a second.

   Now, I'm not saying I have the same issue Robin Williams had. I'm sure the darkness he was fighting was indescribable and it's a tragedy that he couldn't fight it anymore. I fully intend to live out the rest of this life until whenever it is that God ends it on His terms. Nonetheless, the Robin Williams example speaks to laughing the pain away. That we can alleviate our darkness with the light of humor.

   But for the record, I don't want anyone reading this to think that whenever I make a joke I'm only doing so to alleviate some pain I'm feeling. I often just make a joke because I see the opportunity and know it will get a laugh. I make jokes because it's fun, not just because it's a painkiller. Please don't laugh at my jokes if you feel like you have to out of sympathy. Please only laugh at them if they're funny. A comedian does not deserve laughter if he is not funny.

Anyway, this blog episode feels shorter but I feel like I've said everything I needed to. No need to ramble on just to make it longer. See you next week!