El Lenguaje Chileno

Humor : the Best Medicine

“It is the ability to take a joke, not make one, that proves you have a sense of humor.”

Max Forrester Eastman (January 4, 1883 – March 25, 1969)

What is thegreatest reward of being alive? Is it chocolate, sex, ice cream, tropical vacations, hugs from children, a perfect night's sleep, or the satisfaction of getting a 7.0 in Psycholinguistic with Mr. Ubeda? Wecan get a thousand different answers. But one supreme pleasure that spans all people is laughter.

There is no such thing as little of humour to enrich our lives. It’s necessarily to find solutionsto our problematic reality. Problems seem to be easier if we have the perspective that problems are just and ingredient to put our lives in action.

Those with a good sense of humour have a goodsense of life. Although it is not the proper role of humour to make fun of others, self-deprecating humour is positive because it encourages humility. It also fosters courage, for that is exactly what isneeded to remove the mask one normally wears and expose one's weaknesses to all.

But, what do we mean when we say that someone has “sense of humour” Eysenk(1972) pointed out three differentpossible meanings. First, we may mean that the person laughs at the same things that we do (conformist meaning). Second, we may mean that the person laughs a great deal and is easily amused (quantitativemeaning). Third, we may mean that the person is the “the life and soul of the party”, telling funny stories and amusing other people (productive meaning).

I cannot imagine my home and workplacewithout humour. People need to work in places where they feel comfortable with their interpersonal relationships. If they are exposed to impersonal and cold environment eventually, they behave the same wayturning their surrounding areas into nasty places.

Humour colour the world with a smile on everyone’s face making their routine enjoyable and relaxed. The element of fun can also increase the...