Humor As Important Character Trait

One human characteristic that eases life's trials and tribulations, somewhat, is humour or to be exact a sense of humour. Humour, not in the category of literary or two/three lines of jokes or stand up comedy or some wayward Latin humour, though these are no less important, as a character trait which helps a person to lighten his/her life’s burdens.

What Humor Does Not Mean

The theory of humour was developed since the time of Greek civilization, by Hippocrates, who maintained that humans are made of four fluid substances - blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm. This theory is akin to the theory of four elements - earth, fire, water and air. This idea influenced the scientific and philosophic thought of Europe and the Middle-east for a long time. This changed after the 16th century when it was challenged by Andreas Vesalius.

However, I am not talking here of humour as a constituent part of the human body. I am concerned about humour or a humorous trait that is part of a person’s character.

Humour as Character

Not everyone is born with the humorous trait in their characters. I am not sure, nor do I care, if it is an inheritable character trait. Even if it is not a trait that is inheritable, like so many other traits that a person acquires during his lifetime, I am sure a humorous trait in one’s character can also be acquired with proper training and discipline.

The question is why is this trait not cultivated into one’s character? Other character traits like personal hygiene, discipline, truthfulness, uprightness, honesty are inculcated into our character from the very beginning of our childhood, while this trait is never even considered. All must agree to the fact that laughter reduces one’s heart rate and contributes to the overall well being of an individual. Yet this good habit is never given enough importance in one’s character-building exercise.

In my opinion, it is a valuable character trait, to be able to laugh at oneself when the chips are down and not take life too seriously. Life has a way of taking care of itself, may not be the way we want. If we can laugh at our own trials of life, and practice good humour, life becomes a bit more bearable.

Humour as a way of life

Humour, I am talking about, is a mood, a state of mind. It pervades all thinking process of an individual and has the capacity to make a person accept life as it comes. It can be inculcated in our character if enough effort and care are taken since the beginning of childhood. In any situation we face in life, we have the choice of looking at it through a lens that is serious and grave or we can look at it through a lens that is humorous. How we look at our lives make a lot of difference to how we react and deal with situations when life throws up a googly. And I can assure you that life will throw up googly, and believe me, more than once.

Yet in present society, humour as a defining character trait is absent in most people. We sometimes use and appreciate humour when it comes to difficult situations others face but seldom when it comes into our own lives. There are not many people who can make fun of oneself or of the situation one is in. This habit of being humorous may come easily to some people but for most people, it is a learned and practised trait.

While travelling in crowded public transport in any big city, it is at least true for Kolkata, one can hear a lot of humorous comments from fellow travellers, eliciting humour and laughter, yet to me, it is an exception

More than Positivity and Stoicism

Being humorous is not about always looking at life positively. It is going beyond a mere positive attitude towards life. It is about being in a zone where one need not be even positive about a situation. It is being indifferent to being positive or negative in any situation and not taking either too seriously. It is about finding comical or amusing situations in every downturn in life.

It is also not stoicism but in spite of it. Stoicism is accepting the inevitable without a flinch, while humour can make one accept life’s situations without flinching and with a funny comment or action to lighten the burden.

Social bonding

I am not sure why we, as a culture, do not cultivate this remarkable trait and encourage youngsters to inculcate humorous trait n their characters. I am also not aware of any specific culture that gives high regard to humour as a personal character trait. Yet, is it not simply common sense? This character trait will increase social bonding in a society fragmented by so many push and pulls.

Humour the best medicine

Once a popular magazine, Readers’ Digest, now defunct, used to have a column named, ‘Laughter is the best medicine’, I would like to say instead, ‘Humor is the best medicine’ or is it an antidote to a lot of social ills.