Funny is the first step and by that, I mean if you can't access humor, you're probably stuck in some fear muck. The nature of my work often has me pursuing answers to some version of the same question and it is this: How do people change? As a systems thinker and social scientist, I nerd-out on pouring-over all possible variables to come-up with mechanism ideas for facilitating change and the results are people continue to surprise me! Today I want to talk about being able to attend to change, and at least one barrier I have found this week to it [in my small corner of the world, with insufficient sample size, basically just a spitball here. Forgive the formative blog purpose and proceed with commiserate caution].
The human brain is an incredible tool that we have let take over. A small peering about the world stage shows how we have let it go too far. See megalomaniacs and associated megalomania as well as fascist leadership and associated, predictable steps people take under fascism ideals to effectively promote hell on earth for a ton of people, basically. And as everything is intrinsically connected whether we believe it or not, we see at the individual level, incredible sickness at the mind/body/spirit level too. The only sane modalities are acceptance, excitement, and joy. If we find ourselves in the grips of any other feeling or thought, we are essentially stuck, and this stuck-ness--if it weren't so popular and commonplace right now--would be called plainly, insane. Whew! So now that I have laid out the context of the world as at least one human sees it, let me tell you why humor is so important.
Funny is the earthquake that rises in the earth of our being and shakes to rest all fear while at the same time rises true together-with power, clear as day. Funny is a great equalizer. Sharing a laugh or even mild guffaw with one other or a room full of others bonds us in our humanity. The bonding in our humanity is the ticket to all major egregious ills we commit against one another and ourselves. Funny is love. Now before I go run off to become a comedian someplace, let me finish my thought here... When we can't laugh, when it either doesn't occur to us or we feel annoyed/frustrated at some other appearing laugh-full human or a gaggle of them, that is a symptom of being in a survival brain state. Survival brain state is one that is reserved for actual threats to one's life, as in actual life or death to one's person scenarios. The human survival brain is a mechanism that developed thousands of years ago to facilitate our life in the wild along with the saber-toothed tiger, etc. and now? Well, I've only a mild version of the saber-toothed predator in my life in the form of a pet, I don't know about you. The regular house cat, who demonstrates total readiness to eat me should I die in her company, I only rest-assured my meat won't go to waste. Despite this, my house cat is perhaps my fondest companion in life. My most loyal and abiding, no doubt.
Lots of "non-essential" brain systems shutdown while in survival mode. Things like reproduction, digestion? Fine for business. Now access to creativity and critical thinking entirely shut-off? That's a problem, the business problem. Solve for this first, then go ahead and make anything.
Thank you for reading. Go laugh now. I'll join you...
-mp