Laughter. Of a person or people in multitudes. The very sound, nay, the very picture which sends us smiling and then bubble forth into gurgles of laughter, when we're carrying out the routine errands of everyday, or just thinking of random things, when we have nothing to do. That sound, that expression, leaving aside everything else and just getting drenched in the trivial joys of the moment, enjoying that moment without regard to how your day went, or with the worry of how it will go. That feeling of not having any worries at all on your mind, for those few moments. Invaluable gift, ain't it? You can smile when you feel you ought/have to, in a social gathering, for instance. But when you laugh? It's different- you are more assured of the genuineness of the person's feelings, well generally! Some people can fake both with such panache, they should be awarded with the Oscars. Let's forget them, for now. :D
When you feel too embarrassed to state it, a chuckle or chortle could say it all. Friendships get built on humour. It binds people alike- anywhere, everywhere. You make people laugh, spread a smile on their face, and the world becomes your friend. =) Truly, being able to make people laugh, is a boon. Though, people seem to have issues with being laughed at, when they do something funny, inadvertently. On the other hand, we know of people who act funny so people around can share a laugh. It's not so much about who was being laughed at, it's about having ten people with you with whom you can share a joke.
Some people make it a point, a part of there basic 'social etiquette', to not laugh when a joke is cracked, or someone said something funny, or something crazy happened. They feel giving in would be reducing their status to that of people who indulge in lowly trivial nothings. Whatever. It's almost like you're trying real hard to stop that pent up laughter from giving you away, and concomitantly trying to convey- 'See, I'm so much cooler than you guys- I didn't laugh at that. Yeah- you know why? Keep wondering, and keep laughing and make an ass of yourselves.' People struggle so hard to keep that serious, 'smart' facade up, all the time. Yuck. The thing is, everyone's mind works differently, makes out differently of the same situation, no two people can think alike. So if you were to find something funny, you laughed, and stopped, and forgot about it. Why first decide whether to laugh at something or not? When you don't get a joke, you ask again. Or you fake a ROFLMAO stint, or attempt to, to cover it. :P That is still better than not laughing just because you wanted to maintain the intellectual in the gang image, [yeah, people live these delusions about themselves] as if people really buy it, anyway. :D
Laughter for many, is now a mere showpiece of cordiality. A language meant to convey something like the deal being fixed, the talk of diplomacy. When we're talking laughter here, I'm not presenting a picture of people coughing their way to laughter at each apt moment in front of friends/foes, but of those very smirks and grunts that I mentioned, a while back. One can poke fun at someone, by writing a satire, better still, a mock-heroic poem on them. And be well applauded for it. Dryden, Pope, were pioneers in the domain of satire. Dryden's satire on Shadwell was caustic enough an attack to ensure he'd never come out of oblivion again. It made Dryden popular in the intellectual circle, but marred Shadwell's confidence, though he went on to become poet Laureate, later. So, what do we see, in today's times? It's wonderful, the gift of laughter, being able to express your amusement at something, not having it limited to smiles alone. It's about whether you're laughing with someone, or at someone, I guess. Isn't there a difference between the two? When you're sharing it, your mind is in a state of delight, and you feel so happy thinking you're going to tell something so crazy and hilarious to someone that you just wait for the moment when they burst out laughing, and you laugh all over again, too! When you're hiding that laughter at that someone under your breath, or you unabashedly laugh just to make the one in front of you feel worse about himself/herself, you very well know there's nothing happy to it. It's insipid, shallow. Cz it's a facade. And in the end, you don't end up feeling unburdened or lighter, but with a feeling of [false] victory that you had the last laugh- [at your own expense, though.]
Last but not the least, instead of blindly sticking to these nauseating notions of apt social behaviour, go laugh your lungs out when people least expect it. People need a wake up call, coz laughter has become a habit, a practice, exercised at times. And that, saps the life out of it, and us.
Laughter for many, is now a mere showpiece of cordiality. A language meant to convey something like the deal being fixed, the talk of diplomacy. When we're talking laughter here, I'm not presenting a picture of people coughing their way to laughter at each apt moment in front of friends/foes, but of those very smirks and grunts that I mentioned, a while back. One can poke fun at someone, by writing a satire, better still, a mock-heroic poem on them. And be well applauded for it. Dryden, Pope, were pioneers in the domain of satire. Dryden's satire on Shadwell was caustic enough an attack to ensure he'd never come out of oblivion again. It made Dryden popular in the intellectual circle, but marred Shadwell's confidence, though he went on to become poet Laureate, later. So, what do we see, in today's times? It's wonderful, the gift of laughter, being able to express your amusement at something, not having it limited to smiles alone. It's about whether you're laughing with someone, or at someone, I guess. Isn't there a difference between the two? When you're sharing it, your mind is in a state of delight, and you feel so happy thinking you're going to tell something so crazy and hilarious to someone that you just wait for the moment when they burst out laughing, and you laugh all over again, too! When you're hiding that laughter at that someone under your breath, or you unabashedly laugh just to make the one in front of you feel worse about himself/herself, you very well know there's nothing happy to it. It's insipid, shallow. Cz it's a facade. And in the end, you don't end up feeling unburdened or lighter, but with a feeling of [false] victory that you had the last laugh- [at your own expense, though.]
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The Good, Bad and the Ugly - What's Your take on this?