Random Musings 2

Writing this blog every day has been a discipline, sometimes a pain in the ass, but I have always tried to get something new out on these pages every day, and usually I manage. I think this is kind of an engine that helps move me forward. I also enjoy communicating. I always have. I have worried sometimes that I might be somewhere on the autism spectrum. This only came to mind when a counsellor I was seeing brought it to my attention. Her thought was that I might have been on the borderline when I was a child. I no longer believe this. I have taken a few online tests and they all place me well within the Neural Typical zone. It seems that I have a sense of humour, don't get fixated on activities or thoughts to the exclusion of others, and simply enjoy other people too much to be other than fairly ordinary. I do admire Greta Thunberg for her zeal and dedication as an activist for the environment and against climate change, and I certainly appreciate where she is coming from when she describes her Asperger's as her engine. I have heard her speak and she is one passionate and articulate sixteen-year-old who can really move and inspire people. On the other hand, I heard her interviewed on a comedy program in New York, and she was so poker face and unresponsive at the jokes and humour that were offered her, that I felt only sad and awkward for her. This is not to judge or criticize her, but for me, humour is essential. I could not live without the ability to laugh off the stress and nonsense of life, neither would I want to live a life where I cannot somehow make others smile and help them lighten their own load. I know that humour isn't everything, and that there comes a time when we have to stop laughing and start facing things that are unpleasant and frightening. But can't we have it both ways? I am not talking about humour as sarcasm, or as a nervous escapism, but the kind of humour, the laughter that comes out of the depths of joy that springs like pure reserves of living water from which any of us can draw if we will only grant ourselves permission. There will also be sorrow, there will always be sorrow and tears. And sometimes the laughter must be mingled with tears and weeping, and this cannot be avoided. But joy, as the overflow of peace and love, is a true gift, and once we accept this gift, there is so much more we can do and be. With laughter.