Do you train your sense of humor?

Or does it train you?

Let’s get technical for a minute, or digital, as anyone can figure this out with google-fu. A sense of humor is the ability to perceive it (duh) or appreciate a joke (more research required). Joke, a thing someone says to cause amusement or laughter (that’s a mighty big can of worms), especially a story with a funny punchline. Seriously? Or if you’d rather the verb, making a joke requires talking humorously or flippantly. I sense a vicious circle coming ‘round the bend.

Derailing that train of thought, I’d rather take you on a trip through my own opinions and observations. I’m a fan of most mirthful musings: swapping puns with those so inclined, taking the field in a battle of wits (no matter how dry or dirty), or bearing witness to the ironies and absurdities of the world. A smirk will often suffice for my part as amusement is traded like currency, but then there are the more rare occasions… Moments when the world can carry on, but I must stop and literally laugh out loud. I lean into the laugh and hope against hope that those looking at me with confusion might one day be able to extract some mirth from the quagmire of the banal.

I have strengths and weaknesses when it comes to levity, as I imagine we all do. While I prefer complexity and multiple leaps of logic over simplistic variations of humor, I’m not above giving a smile when something registers on the low end of the scale. So, as I can sit through a comedian’s set without a verbal reaction, but some innocuous and oblivious comment made by someone in all seriousness can make me burst at the seams, I admit my sense of humor may be a bit warped. My mind exists between that of an optimist and a cynic, perhaps that’s a factor.

I believe that my distaste for cringe comedy is rooted in my childhood, and my desire to avoid awkward social situations. I’ve been a serious person for a very long time, so a number of physical comedy routines also miss the mark with me. I never found situational comedy potent enough to laugh at, but I don’t begrudge anyone their delights when it comes to amusement.

I can’t speak for anyone other than myself, but I for one have had a give-and-take relationship with my sense of humor. My experiences, strengths, and weaknesses have led me to embrace and revel in the strange, obscure, and mentally demanding subdivisions of levity. As I reflect and consider such matters, I realize that I might be using sarcasm and satire by reflex to manipulate others. It’s never been an intention, but the consequence remains the same. Comedy and tragedy will always be close partners in my writing style, but I desire to bring joy rather than sorrow to this world. I don’t want to betray my instincts, but introspection is never a bad idea.