Why So Serious?

 

Greetings Friends,

Tiger Woods might not find the above image to be funny, but I think it's hilarious. Last week, a local magazine PhotoShopped Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's head onto a similarly porcine body. He's only been in office 5 months and already, you'd think he was New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg after the big blizzard. Mayor Ford supposedly took the lampooning in stride. Good for him.

There are times that call for seriousness, and other times, we could do with a bit more irreverence. I used to never miss an episode of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report". My day wasn't complete until I got an earful of what those two men had to say. They always managed to take the edge off, no matter how much stress I felt, and after a few good belly laughs, sleep always came easy. It didn't matter that the underlying messages were serious; the ability to satirize them is an art form - not something everyone can accomplish. That brand of humour is also not for everyone. It happens to be for me.

There comes a point in time when you are in danger of taking yourself too seriously. It doesn't matter what your occupation, but if you begin to feel that civilization will crumble without your contribution, it might be time for a holiday. I like to refer to this as the "Star Trek Convention" effect. If you happen to find yourself at one once or twice over the course of your life, there's nothing wrong with that. When you attend several over the course of a year and feel the need to dress as a "Ferengi" while simultaneously speaking fluent "Klingon", there might be a problem. It may be time to get a life. William Shatner had the right idea. 

Some people have a habit of rendering themselves indispensable.Whether it's performing a certain task or offering up opinions or advice, certain folks feel the need to do or see things only one way: theirs. Everyone else can go play in traffic for all they care. I used to think office know-it-alls were the only ones capable of this sort of behaviour, but life and experience taught me that these people are everywhere. No matter where you are or what you do, there's always going to be someone or some group that has the market cornered on serious. And it's no surprise that the more serious they are, the less you want to have anything to do with them.

I revel in irreverence. I adore it. I aspire to be more irreverent every day I am alive. There are times when seriousness is required, but I find those times to be fewer and fewer the older I get. Let the "Trekkies" have their fun. Let the know-it-alls think they know everything. I will never take them as seriously as they take themselves.

By the way, the reason I don't really watch Stewart and Colbert anymore is because they are not on basic cable here in Canada. Sacrilege. 

Nava