I laughed until I cried, as I listened to Chonda Pierce talk about depression. Not that the topic of depression is funny, but I think she deals with the subject in an honest and very humerous way.If you are clinically depressed, and then … you make a living as a stand-up comedian, that’ll pretty much throw a kink in your job. You guys really wouldn’t have bought a ticket to see me stand here and cry for two hours. I don’t know, maybe you would–this is kind of a sick crowd here today.

Learning to laugh at my weaknesses brings healing to my soul, too. For instance, I’m just now able to laugh about my some of my own emotional limitations–like the many times I locked myself in the bathroom for a good cry when my kids were younger. Or the time my husband found me on the floor, in a fetal position, crying because I had made a “B” in a conversational Spanish class. And I was almost 50 years old at the time!

Seriously, who cries over a “B” in Spanish? Uh, ME! 

And who locks themselves in a bathroom and cries over spilt milk? Uh, ME!

And who goes into a tizzy, after they realized that they’ve made another impulsive commitment that they can’t keep? Uh, ME! 

So, you see why I love to hear Chonda Pierce make jokes about her battle with depression. Maybe we all need to not take ourselves so seriously and start trying to find the humor in the mirror. [What else can you do with the wrinkles, gray hair, and the extra pounds?]

Anyway, laughter works for me! And sometimes it comes in handy. Like when one of my writer friends calls, upset over a rejection letter. I remember my reaction to rejection letters. Or when my daughter Tara, who has FIVE kids, calls me from her closet, crying. I see myself as a young mom, crying in my closet!

So, the next time you’re temped to make another impulsive decision, just stop first and try to see the humor in the situation. It could save you a lot of grief, time, or even money! 

Keep laughing!

Have you ever laughed at yourself?