That's me telling a joke.
I'm the kind if person who leans heavily on reality. That's no secret! However, I'm also always laughing at the things I remember. Most of them have happened around me or to me. Both are equally funny. The best part is that things aren't usually that good for jokes. But life delivers punchlines every time. You just need to be smart enough to understand the cosmic comedy.
And wouldn't you know it? We all are part of it! Don't forget to smile!
Having a good sense of humor is the only way I can process life. I live in Venezuela and the whole situation of the country feels like it was taken out of a bad sci-fi story. I tend to refer to this place as the Country of Half-Truths. I makes sense. And it is a joke to cope with the plethora of flabbergasting events that happen on a daily basis around here. I'm not talking about aliens or paranormal activity, but we have a lot of that too.
The fact is that as a Venezuelan, humor is a very important tool to go around life. Nothing happens in this country that isn't transformed into a joke. Even the worst tragedies are transformed into memes. The best ones are usually political. We make fun the most about ourselves and how we got into this regime. It a funny business. However, I believe the alternative is worse. People have committed suicides every here and there because they stop having hope. The sense of humor on this country is just that, hope. Hopes for leaving this place or having a bit of good fortune amongst the worst dealt hand in the history of this nation.
To a personal level, having the ability to mock everything and myself is a relief. If I was as serious as I'm portrayed by others, chances are I would've ended my sorry existence. For that people, I just have to say they need glasses or a new pair of eyes. My guess is they can't even differentiate from social cues to understand why one behaves in a certain manner according to the situation.
I'm not trying to make you believe I'm the funniest person in the world.
I'm a big clown that somewhat smart. And it is my own way of coping with my lack of money and drive to get into a 9-5 to get some while I work on a craft that's unappreciated and can't make too much money out of it. So, I use the alternative of looking at the absurdity of the world and going about it living my life. It will all end without any glory, so knowing the punchline of life one can go about everything looking at its funny side. I gotta say it is way easier when things happen to someone else. But I'm no stranger to making a fool of myself in public. It always makes me laugh now and cringe later.
There are always things to do and jokes to be made about those things. And so, the cycle of life continues in order. Today, I'm laughing; tomorrow, I'm laughing material. And it's all cool on each side. I think life is too harsh already to be going around worried about how serious everything is. Yes, there's a lot of responsibilities and problems to be solved. But if we tend to just around around fulfilling those without giving us the chance of cracking a smile or bursting in laughter out of the things that could encompass our own misery or the worst things in the world, we'd go crazy!
And I mean clinically crazy. Straight jacket and all!
So, in world where things go from bad to worse in the blink of an eye, I decide to make the bad jokes, terrible jokes, dad jokes and become the joke from time to time. Not for a particular reason. I don't believe it is a talent I could capitalize, but it is for the sake of my own mental health.
Maybe this rambling isn't funny enough at this moment. However, one of these days, it will get to you. It'll be the middle of the night and you'll burst in laughter by something you read right here.
Don't worry, that laughter is on me.
Anyhow, humor is a powerful coping mechanism for me. It isn't the best thing in the world, but is the tool I have. And I used it every time I have to.
It has worked so far. Otherwise, I wouldn't be writing these words!
- Photos and Video 📹 📷: taken by me (Redmi Note 8)
- Editing 🎬: by me, made with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, Canva.
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