Humor and those stuck emotional knots

One of my favorite teachers, Pema Chodron, says, “If you can sit quietly after difficult news, if in financial downturns you remain perfectly calm, if you can see your neighbors travel to fantastic places without a twinge of jealousy, if you can happily eat whatever is put on your plate and fall asleep after a day of running around without a drink or a pill, if you can always find contentment just where you are, you are probably a dog.”

This makes me smile each time I hear it.

I pull back and remember, with a sense of relief, that because I am human, I have the propensity to feel irritated and triggered. It is normal.

I am normal.

Reframing an observation using humor helps me shift my thinking. I am reminded to replace "should" with "is", remain unattached to outcomes, and glide graciously with whatever is presented in my life.

Living can be tangled and messy. Humor can help loosen the knots.

Today, to further my health and wellbeing, I will be aware of situations in which humor is my teacher.