Article September 27, 1999 Issue

The humor connection

Laughter speeds healing.

By Joyce E. Batchelder

Is there a purposeful link between religion and humor? Although some might claim that both religious belief and humor are extraneous to survival, mankind has persistently pursued both. Neither faculty has faded into extinction the way capabilities unnecessary to survival are presumed to do.

There must be something to be said, then, for these "nonessential" capacities that, by and large, people can't live without. I've found that humor often teaches me spiritual lessons and quickens my receptivity to healing.

One rather coarse type of humor derives from the urge to feel superior and is often expressed by ridiculing someone or something. In extreme cases of this type, the preposterousness of pride surfaces, and one sees clearly the wisdom of humility.

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