Silliness is serious. I'm not here to tell you to take yourself less seriously. Getting happier for me was when I realised taking certain, awfully silly, things, much more seriously in my life was easier than taking some, awfully serious, things much more seriously. Seriously.
Nobody finds it easy to hear about my dead uncle, but I know when I talk about clowns and make my eyes really big for my neighbours baby, silliness makes me happier. I was also told that Google SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION likes lists. So, for my inaugural blog post, here is a three-part silly list.
1! . When you get a moment, try and look at the back of your head.
This one is nice because that is where most of the nonsense collects, at the back of your head. Imagine your vision extends all the way around your head to the back of your skull. See your perspective expand. Get really curious about how the back of your hair looks the moment you wake up. Maybe if you spin around fast enough in front of a mirror you will see it?
Open up your awareness to how utterly ridiculous our bodies, and the way we organise the world around our bodies, are. When you can see it, you can choose how to react to it. It takes practice. But see how much of the room you can see at once. How wide can you make your eyes? What in your wardrobe really stands out when you do this? Doing this in public is fun, especially with a mask on because it hides your giggles and the experience is just for you. So the silly is even more special. Isn't funny how that teeny car pulls up next to that huge one? Just notice.
2! . Learn about the ways your vulnerability is different to the vulnerability of the people around you.
To be silly with someone you don't know, you probably have to be a little bit comfortable around them. To be silly with yourself, you have to be comfortable enough to make a fool of yourself. These things make you vulnerable. Let the silly guide you to where you are vulnerable.
I'm really not interested in self-deprecating comedy. Thats okay if you are, but I don't think it's the silliest way to be happy.
To be silly in a way that isn't putting yourself down, you have to understand where the pain points are. If you don't know them, one day you will be getting silly and go 'Ah! Here is something that makes me relatable and funny!' and you will take yourself down for the sake of silly. You will stumble on it, and it wont make you happier. Just like you can be getting down and silly and accidentally stumble on someone else's pain point. It's the same as looking around the room, when you can see it, you can choose how to react to it.
So notice. Do you make self-deprecating jokes? When do you tell them? What about yourself is the butt of the joke? Who are you with? How do you feel after?
3! . Three Panel Comics.
Find some three panel comics online. They are a really absurd medium. One of my favourites are these Garfeild comics that someone edited Garfeild out of, and they are utterly surreal experiences. There is a book of them called Garfield Minus Garfield by Dan Walsh, you can see some here. https://garfieldminusgarfield.net/page/470
It's fun to make your own three panels. The worse you are at drawing the better. Draw three boxes in a row and fill them in with a story as quickly as you can. Then close your eyes, count to three and look at what you made. Nonsense, probably! Great!
Really, silliness is really nice because it is escape. Yet, that is no reason it cannot be brought right to the heart of what you do everyday, in little ways. These three examples are about awareness, curiosity, trying teeny new things.
They wont make you happier forever, but being happy forever would be a very silly thing.