Finding Humour in Crisis

“Lyootenant Governor has executive powers wider than the discretion which is….” This was my narrative that I was reading in civics class in the sixth grade. To which my teacher replied “Sakina, are you dumb? It is not pronounced as Lyootenant, it is pronounced as Leftenant”

Peals of laughter arose from the class. This was a great content for the class to latch onto for the next two weeks. Almost, like how the journalists stretch a piece of news like gum. "Why do kids have such a good memory when it comes to stuff like this but not remember the formula of the circumference of a circle?" I thought to myself "Why do they write it as Lieutenant then? Just write it properly". English is a funny language.

Every time, when I had to read or give a speech, I would shudder and the only word that would ring in my ears is ‘Leftenant! Not, Lyootenant’. 

I worked on myself, read a lot of books thereafter and really did enjoy the language. Writing essays and school magazine articles was good fun and what was even more fun is to get an ‘A’ from the same teacher who called me dumb. At that time what seemed to be a never-ending curse that I had caused upon myself, is now a funny story to tell.

During World War II, when America went to war in 1941, Hollywood recognised the need for entertainment and boosting the morale of troops and civilians. There happened to be an American Comedian, Bob Hope who began his career. His work took on new meaning when he was asked to perform his show outside of the studio in front of a military audience. He soon became a popular name within the armed forces who really looked up to him for laughter and as an escape from the reality they were going through which was of loneliness and depression. It is in difficult times that we turn towards art and laughter. I happened to interview a popular stand-up comedian ‘Neeti Palta’ last month for an interview for Zen-Talks to explore the theme ‘Finding Humour in Crisis’ and asked her if there is a co-relation between Tragedy and Comedy? She said that there very much is. Comedy = Tragedy + Time.

If you look at a lot of art that is created, it is a reflection of the society. Movies based on a war-like context, political satires and tragic love stories. If there is an event that pains you, comedy is a great channel to prove that point. Which is why we see memes floating on social media.

I know a lot of people who operate with the attitude of light-heartedness and optimism in every situation, and I wondered if that takes a special something to carry this outlook. 

This curiosity led me to ask two questions:

• How can I find Humour in Crisis?
• How can I achieve light-heartedness in my life to cope with challenging times? 

1.      Reframe Your Life Narrative

Write a one page on your life story. Now, move to the next page and write it from the perspective of a humorous saga. For e.g. I was really scolded by my teachers in school and punished. v/s I am the hero of my life’s musical and when I was punished, I would imagine myself dancing on the tables of school. Yes, this sounds absurd. This helped me reframe my angst towards my past experiences with a humorous embrace. Here’s what you need to do:

a.      Write the one-page life story

b.      Now write it from a third person’s perspective

c.      Exaggerate the events

d.      Make it sound ridiculously fictional

e.      Amplify the situation till it is either unbelievably comical or there is a new balance in the status. 

Eg. Max was Scolded by the teachers for talking too much, Scolded by family for making too much noise, Scolded by neighbours. Therefore, he grew up to be an usher in a theatre asking people to be quiet

2.      So What? 

My boss yelled at me because I goofed up the presentation. So, what?

I feel bad. So what?

Now, he is going to have a bad perception about me. So what?

Now, I will have to work extra hard to fix this perception. So what?

You see where I am going with this? When you find yourself in a difficult situation? Ask yourself this ‘So what’ question, until you are tired of asking this. Our body, during the times of stress increases the flow of hormones to an area of the brain known as the amygdala to help us focus on the presenting danger and store it in our memory. And since you are in this state of hyper-focused mode, the activity of ‘overthinking’ may be a common phenomenon that most of us may experience. Ask yourself this ‘So what’ question. Chances are that you may realise, that this moment is not permanent and you will be able to move from the state of paralysis to a realisation of ‘Learning and Resolve’.

3. Adapt and Improvise. Okay, Just Improvise!

This has worked for me in building my stage presence, confidence, creativity and spontaneity. Improv or Improvisation is the art of presenting a comic skit without preparation, therefore it is spontaneous and forces you to perform without overthinking. Think of it like jumping off a cliff and building an airplane on your way down. It is obviously less physically dangerous but just as emotionally thrilling. As an Improviser, spontaneity and timing is essential for humour. It requires one to be in the scene, absorbed and attentive. Next it requires a bit of fearlessness to be able to be able to perform and that translates to life as well. As a performer, you learn to switch your mental state on command, and are able to adapt to even the toughest circumstances. 

4. Ditch the Crime, Embrace the Sitcoms

A study was done in 2019 on what genre were most Netflix users in India watching. Clearly the statistics reveal that the most popular genre is ‘Crime’. Now, there is nothing wrong about that but my grandma always said ‘Cultivate good actions by feeding good thoughts’. Find that sweet spot for yourself for you to feed in good informative and light hearted content. Make your minutes count. 

5. Laugh out Loud

This reminds me of my morning runs to Joggers Park, where a bunch of silver-haired men and women would be laughing. I would know that this laughter yoga session has started as the sounds could be distinct heard from half a kilometre away. You obviously do know that people who laugh are healthier. Studies show that emotions can affect our physical well-being, but the converse is also true. Trying to emulate postures associated with positive emotions can bring about physiological changes. Bursts of laughter can decrease blood pressure, enhance your immune function and help you live longer. There are simple ways of doing this. The first and the simplest way is to laugh a little bit louder that you normally would and the second is, change the way you would normally react. When you find yourself getting irritated or angry, try and laugh. While you are doing so, observe your emotional state changing.

There are some disclaimers to this.

1. Nowhere, am I trying to undermine personal trauma, mental illness and abuse to be swept under the rug in the garb of laughter. They are serious challenges for which medical and psychiatric help must be sought.
2. Secondly, while we use humour, make sure the humour is not at the expense of someone else. In comedy, there is a concept known as ‘Punching up versus Punching Down’. Punching up is where you poke fun of the subject who is more privileged than you are. For example, ‘I am making fun of Instagram travel influencers who start taking pictures even in the restroom’. Punching down is where I make fun of people who are marginalised. Avoid punching down people for the sake of humour.

Laughter has no language and it helps you instantly connect with others beyond geography and language and be more sociable. With so much going on with our lives today, this is indeed an underrated resource. Make sure you do use this resource abundantly.