Dash of Sass: Learning to Laugh AT Yourself Invites Other to Laugh WITH You

Quotes of the Day:

“You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.” ~ Colette

“I think the only way to get through this life is laughing hard and constantly, mostly at myself.” ~Shannon Hale

“Laugh at yourself once in a while; give yourself a break.” ~Greg Evans

The Single Woman Says:

A couple of months ago I was at the grocery store and spotted the super cute produce guy that I always scope out every time I’m at the grocery store. Now this probably isn’t a crush that’s going to go anywhere…but why not enjoy the view while I’m examining the organic bananas to see which shade of green is too green?

On this particular day, however, I must have been enjoying the view a little TOO much. While mindlessly rolling my cart through an aisle, I got one of the wheels caught on a huge “10 for $10” sign and proceeded to accidentally drag the sign along with me, causing a lady to look up from her shopping in terror because she apparently thought I was about to wipe her out the same way I did the sign. In fact, several people looked up from their shopping to see what all the clatter and commotion was about. Needless to say, I disengaged the sign from my cart and hightailed it out of the produce aisle as fast as my legs could carry me.

I wish I could share with you the deeper meaning of this story and extract some profound nugget of wisdom from the experience to show you how the bigger picture made the humiliation worthwhile, but I can honestly say I didn’t learn a thing. (Except maybe a lesson in shopping cart safety.) But you know what I DID do? I laughed. I laughed hysterically at myself. Once I got out of the produce aisle and clear of the lady who thought I was stalking her with my grocery cart, I laughed until my sides hurt. Then I called my mom to share the story with her and SHE laughed hysterically. Then I shared the story on Facebook and got a lot of comments from people who ALSO thought the story was hilarious. So you know what great life lesson I extracted from the whole experience? Sometimes things just happen for no reason other than to make us laugh. Sometimes we trip over our own feet and get caught in a gust of wind while wearing a dress, thereby flashing all of downtown Nashville (I have some experience in this arena, too) and plow over giant signs in the grocery store for the simple purpose of making someone LAUGH. It might be the stranger standing next to you who witnesses your embarrassing incident who got terrible news that morning and thought they would never laugh again. It might be that friend going through a breakup who you share the story with and cause her to break out in the kind of giggles that can only happen when you mix laughter and tears. Or it might be YOU. It might be as simple as YOU learning to laugh at yourself and not take yourself so seriously. However the laughter happens and whoever it impacts, know this: There is an element of magic in laughter, and if you can bring it to someone’s life in any way, shape, or form…that makes you pretty special. Never underestimate the impact of a simple smile or quiet chuckle. Am I encouraging you to laugh at other’s misfortunes? No! But sometimes it’s the “misfortunes” in life that hold the greatest treasures. Sometimes it takes doing something completely silly and foolish and comedic to realize that what you’re going through isn’t as bad as you thought.

So loosen up. Stop taking LIFE so seriously. Learn to laugh at your stumbles. Next time you trip over your own feet or drop a tray of dirty dishes or nearly run over someone with your grocery cart, burst into giggles instead of tears. Let laughter break your fall and refuse to let mishaps break your stride. When you do this, you give the people around you the courage to do the same.