“Everything is funny, as long as it’s happening to somebody else.”
–Will Rogers
Boy, was that cowboy right!
Any time I tell my life’s stories, especially the ones about my two gory accidents, one involving a lawnmower and the other an inattentive driver smashing into me, the reaction is predictable: “I can’t believe you’re alive! But, it is kind of funny…how many people can say a riding lawnmower fell on top of them? I mean, it’s hard to picture, you on the ground, the mower on top of you with the blade spinning around trying its best to eliminate some of your most precious body parts. And then when it was over and you met the surgeon he didn’t want to talk about the accident, he wanted to know if you were spiritual!”
Well, it sure wasn’t funny to me at the time, but now, whenever I share that story of the time I got t-boned by some moron pulling a load of cement bricks, I’m able to laugh right along with anyone listening. I do this by reframing these traumas. I can’t change the event; I can change the way they look to me, however. Take a picture, any picture. I bet you that if you change the frame on the picture, the picture will look different; sometimes a lot different! You haven’t changed the picture itself; it’s still exactly the same…but it looks a lot different because of the new frame you’ve put around it!
Traumatic events become pictures in our brains. They stick to us and because they do, we can’t get over them. They can continue to cause us emotional hurt. So, if we can reframe them, change the way they look to us, we can un-stick them! There are several ways to do this, but I’ve found using humor works best for me. I tell people about my traumas and almost every time I do, they find something funny, something to smile or laugh at! Now, these traumas certainly aren’t funny to me, but you know something? When other people laugh, it’s hard not to follow suit. It’s like yawning. Someone yawns, you yawn, too! Same with laughing. And laughing has lots of benefits, one of which is that it releases those feel-good endorphins in my body. And, when I’m laughing and feeling good, it’s hard to feel sad! Try it…try smiling and frowning at the same time! Can’t be done!
So, try un-sticking your traumas by sharing them with friends. And laugh while you’re doing it. Don’t be surprised if they see the humor in something you certainly never had. Remember what Will Rogers said, and you may find that while your traumas aren’t funny to you, they may be to somebody else.