LanceWillett.com

Why do you have to be a nonconformist like everybody else?

—James Thurber

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.

This statement from e.e. cummings goes up as one of my favorite of all time. Laughter is a great medicine, as every copy of Reader’s Digest will tell you.

You may have noticed that as you browse here on LanceWillett.com various sayings or jokes appear in the header below the title. This is my way of giving you a small laugh whenever you visit my site. (Refresh the page to see another one.)

My laughs come from all sorts of places. My wife, my cats, other people, funny stories, cartoons, songs—the list goes on. Here are several cartoons that I follow:

• xkcd.com – A daily cartoon, usually geeky in nature.
• LOLcats – Hilarious cartoon that simulates old-time cartoon art with 2000’s era humor.
• Strongbad Email – This animated cartoon series is creative, witty, and funny (but sometimes obscure and geeky like xkcd above).

I know Erin follows Bucky Katt, Satchel Pooch, and their human, Rob, on the dailyu Get Fuzzy cartoon, and we both get on YouTube every so often to watch funny commercials and videos.

If you need a laugh right now, go watch some of the videos published by Coudal and friends, like Hobbies or Copy Goes Here. Hilarious, and even more so if you can identify with it! (See the entire listing).

If your sides are hurting afterwards, then you know you’ve got a good dose of laughter.

Mark Twain said:

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

That sums up my outlook on life, and I am living the adventure. Of course, the “bowlines” in my case are the “typical” nine-to-five jobs, two-point-five kids, and two-car-garages that tend to keep people tied to a place, employer, or family situation. Though sailing away from the safe harbor has not been easy, it has been rewarding in so many ways. It is worth it!

Related: a recent xckd cartoon about adventures speaks to this same outlook. (Warning: the cartoon has an “R” rating for language.)

“There is no use in trying,” said Alice; “one can’t believe impossible things.”
“I dare say you haven’t much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

I have to catch myself when saying “That’s impossible!” when faced with challenging circumstances. This quote from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass is great for reminding me that nothing is truly impossible. If I set my mind to it, I can do it.

Sometimes the words to a song can fill up my heart. Beauty of the Days Gone By by Van Morrison does just that every time:

    When I recall just how it felt
    When I went walking down by the take
    My soul was free, my heart awake
    When I walked down into the town
    The mountain air was fresh and clear
    The sun was up behind the hill
    It felt so good to be alive
    On that morning in spring

    I want to sing this song for you
    I want to lift your spirits high
    And in my soul I want to feel
    The beauty of the days gone by
    The beauty of the days gone by
    It brings a longing to my soul
    To contemplate my own true self
    And keep me young as I grow old

    The beauty of the days gone by
    The music that we used to play
    So lift your glass and raise it high
    To the beauty of the days gone by
    I'll sing it from the mountain top
    Down to the valley down below
    Because my cup doth overflow
    With the beauty of the days gone by
    The mountain glen
    Where we used to roam

    The gardens there
    By the railroad track
    Oh my memory it does not lie
    Of the beauty of the days gone by
    The beauty of the days gone by
    It brings a longing to my soul
    To contemplate my own true self

    And keep me young as I grow old

Listen to this song on Amazon (go to “Listen to Samples” #10).