With Humour

A couple weeks ago, I had a thought that changed my outlook in how I perceive and react to the world around me.

There I was, minding my business and eating at the table when someone said something that normally would have annoyed me.

Except this time, my initial reaction was different.

Instead of finding it irritating, I couldn’t help but smile to myself ironically. To my bewilderment, I found it amusing. I found myself thinking, well that’s funny.

Not because it was actually funny in any way, but because what else would I expect other than the same thing from the same person?

Since then, I’ve had my fair share of moments of being irritated and annoyed with others, but I’ve thought back to that one experience. To react with a feeling of humour and lightness in my heart rather than malice or anger was profound.

Our quality of life is heavily influenced by the way we see and perceive things. Rather than taking everything personally (which, in reality, very little of what others do is personal to us), to simply observe and react with amusement shifted how I felt for the entire day.

It may not always be realistic or appropriate to react this way. But in those small, day-to-day moments that normally irritate you, wouldn’t you rather feel lighthearted instead? After all, how many of those small moments add up and compound over time?

You don’t need to attach yourself to every thought and allow it to have an emotional chokehold over you. You don’t need to make everything others do about you. Let them be how they are, smile about it, and let it go. You will feel better, and after all, isn’t that what we’re all searching after?