LJ Idol - Week [1] - "Jayus"

[penpusher]

I really had a lot to consider when it came to this particular starting point for this year’s therealljidol. The word, listed in quotes in the title, is from, we’re told, Indonesian, and means “a joke so poorly told and so unfunny that one cannot help but laugh.”

Now, with me coming from a comedy background, I found this topic a particularly difficult one. When you’re used to telling a joke well, or writing a joke for someone else to tell well, the adversity, the dread, the ambivalence that occurs when you try to intentionally screw it up is enormous!

I really sat for a few hours and considered the possibilities. I first started a story about a mom and some kids, but I didn't like the direction it was going. Then, I thought perhaps I could just write a laundry list of names:

George W. Bush

Donald Trump

Sarah Palin

You get the idea. Easy to get accolades for that! And I could have filled several entries with that list of names and stories about them. But would that have been fair? Fish in a barrel.

The Three Stooges are noted for this kind of behavior. So is Monsanto. It’s ironic that there is this Keystone Pipeline on the horizon, because it recalls the Keystone Kops. I had to think some more.

I kept coming back (couldn't escape is more accurate) to the nonsense that I was seeing in the news, and in history, and on twitter. Finally, it hit me, like George Zimmerman signing autographs at a gun show.

I have frequently stated that my favorite ancient Chinese quote is:

“We cannot choose what happens to us, but we can choose our reaction to it.”

And that’s what we’re dealing with in the world. We are looking at a system, a society, a mechanism that is functioning to the benefit of those running it. We are born into the system. We have to learn the system and learn to maneuver through the system. And those at the top of the system are always working to make sure they remain on top.

But the rest of us want to be healthy and happy too! We want the opportunity to have some sort of control over our lives. And we want to enjoy what we have, whatever we have, for as long as we have it.

And to me, that’s the essence of what Jayus is about. Life itself can be seen as a badly told joke. Think about it. Random stuff happens, all the time. People are killed because of human error, or human anger or a single celled organism that is too complex for us to understand. People become famous for no reason whatsoever, or for a reason that really is rooted in infamy.

We can do everything right: get great grades in school, get a college degree, work really hard and still not succeed because of factors out of our control. Or because of how someone else views us. Or because someone doesn't want to view us.

But, Life is seen through the prism of our own personal experiences, and through the knowledge we have acquired about how the mechanism works. It's our choice: We can choose to run and hide, to feel helpless and afraid. Or we can laugh, and sing, and roller skate and prove that we can live our lives, our way, in the face of every last bit of adversity placed on our path.

At the very least, we have to make sure we aren’t making something bad into something worse, because the reaction informs us. If we get angry, then we physiologically change. Our blood pressure increases. Our tear ducts respond. We might want to get violent. And that affects US, not the person or event that caused that reaction. How we choose to react can potentially shorten our own life spans and bring more misery to ourselves.

And that’s where we have to be disciplined. And humorous! We need to remember Jayus because, a lot of the time, there’s a whole lot of nonsense being spouted by a whole lot of nonsensical people, all over the world. It’s up to us to make sure they know, in the clearest way possible, what we think of them.

Laugh Real Loud!

Comments

[basric.livejournal.com]

So well told. I loved it.

[crazypuce.livejournal.com]

I totally agree, sometimes life does feel like a bad joke. And all that's left is to laugh because it's still better than crying.

[swirlsofblue.livejournal.com]

Love this concept and your handling of it, especially the lovely message of hope and humor :)

[x-disturbed-x.livejournal.com]

I second that! I love the way you dealt with this topic. :)

[baxaphobia.livejournal.com]

I loved this! So true! Shaking one's head and laughing is sometimes the only reaction to the crap happening around us.

[penpusher.livejournal.com]

thanks very much!

[penpusher.livejournal.com]

It's the most positive reaction I can think of, and I'm always trying to be positive. Thanks for reading!

[penpusher.livejournal.com]

It kind of dovetailed into your entry, in a random way. I appreciate the great compliment!

[penpusher.livejournal.com]

This entry fell into what I call a "thinkpost" because there are topics that I don't "know" but maybe have just been kicking around, and this definitely was one of those topics! Thanks for your response and compliment!

[penpusher.livejournal.com]

Only LEGAL reaction! Haha! And thanks!

[bleodswean.livejournal.com]

A really nice and thoughtful essay. I can hear your voice in it and that lent it a twist. Well done.

[sweeny-todd.livejournal.com]

yep! Sometimes life IS a terrible joke. You gotta laugh :-)

[solstice-singer.livejournal.com]

I really like how you think.

[penpusher.livejournal.com]

Thanks very much!

[kecharasmoon.livejournal.com]

I like the way you think.

[penpusher.livejournal.com]

It can be the best thing we can do, both for ourselves and for everyone around us. :)

[penpusher.livejournal.com]

That's very high praise, so thanks!

[penpusher.livejournal.com]

thank you for a great compliment!

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

My grandma (the one I liked) told me when I was 20 and angry at a breakup that living well was the best revenge. I still don't know if that's more satisfying than flushing the cheating ass's head down a toilet would've been, but you are right that being actively angry at others does nothing to them and only screws up our own selves. So, life as the joke does make sense!

[penpusher.livejournal.com]

Thanks! It's not always an easy philosophy to follow, but I try to keep it in mind, now more than ever, as it seems like there's an endless bunch of stuff to laugh at!

[shay-writes.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed this! Well done!

[kandigurl.livejournal.com]

What a unique take on the topic, and SO TRUE. There's a video I love about this very topic called "Crap or Cone", you can either focus on the fact that you have a foot in dog crap, or you can focus on the fact that you're holding an ice cream cone. :)

[penpusher.livejournal.com]

Many thank yous!

[seakittym.livejournal.com]

I have always been a big fan of the "Life is 10% what happens, 90% how you handle it" but I do realize there's a lot more at play (brain chemistry is a bite), but it's true, sometimes we really do just have to laugh. Take things with a grain of salt, and have a sense of humor. If you don't, you're going to pop a vessel before 40.

[penpusher.livejournal.com]

That video really sounds like a metaphor for life! Life can be what you make it, or at least better than it could be, based on what you make it!