Laughing at yourself just may be the secret to life.
By Trish McClellan
The traits we inherit from our parents often make us recognizable as their children. The physical traits I received from mine make it clear that I belong to them — my father’s blue eyes and my mother’s hands are hard to miss.
But the traits I value most are the ones you can’t see. From my mother, I learned how to stand up for myself. From my father, I inherited my sense of humor. Both gifts have served me well more times than I can count.
They say laughter is the best medicine. If that’s true, then I should live to be 110. I love to make others laugh, and I am not afraid to laugh at myself. Humor has been my icebreaker for as long as I can remember.
It has rescued me from awkward moments, uncomfortable conversations, and more than a few situations where I wished the floor would open up and swallow me whole.
Life has a way of putting us in situations where laughter becomes less of a luxury and more of a necessity.
There have been times when things felt overwhelming — when tears came easier than smiles — and yet somehow, laughter would sneak back in when I needed it most.
Sometimes it snuck back in quietly, like a reminder that joy hadn’t completely packed its bags and left town.
Often, that laughter came at my own expense. Like the time I walked confidently around a store only to be told discreetly by a sweet older lady that the hem of my skirt had gotten tucked into my waistband.
Or when my mouth took off before my brain got in gear and I said something that sounded perfectly reasonable in my head but came out completely wrong once it reached my lips.
In those moments, I learned that if you can laugh at yourself, you take away the power of embarrassment, and you-give others permission to relax a little too.
Laughter has a way of breaking tension and softening hard moments. It makes the awkward more manageable and the stressful more bearable.
I have found that when life feels heavy, a good laugh can lighten the load just enough to keep moving forward.
I also believe laughter is one of God’s quiet gifts to us. It reminds us not to take everything so seriously.
It allows us to see humor in situations that once felt impossible. And sometimes, it helps heal wounds that words alone can’t fix.
The older I get, the more I realize that life isn’t meant to be lived with a constant frown or a heavy heart.
There will always be problems, worries, and challenges. But there will also be reasons to smile. We just have to be willing to look for them.
So, laugh when you can. Laugh at yourself when you must. And never underestimate the healing power of a good chuckle.
After all, laughing at yourself just may be the secret to life.
Until next time, keep rocking and reflecting.
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