Touched by the Giggles
My attention was drawn to an article in The Times the other day about a sense of humour deficit. It referenced a book by Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas entitled 'Humour, Seriously' which I vow I must read one day.
Anyway the gist of the article was to point out that once we grow up and aquire the responsibilities of the workplace environment, human beings have a tendency to lose their sense of humour and give up on the giggles. It's a bit like all those surveys on enjoying life, we reach 23 and everything is downhill from then on.
Or is it?
Just as life satisfaction picks up again in our sixties, it seems that cheeky sense of humour never really leaves us after all; it just lies buried under the myriad of red tape and bureaucracy that weighed us down for a few decades. Moreover a quick jump into retirement and a few weeks later there we are dancing to sunbeams and in my case laughing at sunflowers.
Clearly my own anecdotal evidence is probably in need of careful scientific evaluation. After all what happens to the stereotypical grump? Aren't grumpy and old age meant to go together, or is that just an excuse employed by Mister E?
Also is there a danger that the light-heartedness on my part could actually be a sign of serious decline in my mental faculties? Ignore old Caree, it's sad but she's becoming somewhat feeble-minded these days.
I guess one of the big differences between the working environment and retirement (apart from the lack of pay) is that the only staid and solemn expectations of you, are of your own making. If I really want to spend every day pretending it's April 1st and making a fool of myself , who is there to stop me?
Of course, very few of us do actually go around acting the goat all the time, but I do think that one of the great joys of retirement is that you honestly don't have to take yourself (or indeed anyone else for that matter) seriously anymore, unless of course you want to. Spontaneity and a devil may care attitude can abound if you let them. Besides, if it gets a bit too much fun, I can always look for a job and "good luck with that at your age, in the present climate," I roar to myself whilst rolling across the floor laughing!
Comments