Priceless Humor is Priceless!
Posted 06/06/09
For centuries stories have been told and retold throughout the world. Why? For one thing, they are entertaining. Another reason is that they deal with the human condition, one way or another. Even animal characters in stories act out the situations of our own humanity.The struggles of life have been with us for centuries as well. Wars. Pestilence. Relationship scuffles. Struggles that implore some understanding, some support. A resolution of some sort.
At the same time, nobody likes to be preached to. We desire to sweeten our bitter medicines. Enter laughter. Humor makes a hard message a bit easier to swallow. Priceless humor is filled with wit and wisdom. An awesome blend of entertainment and enlightenment.
As you know, laughter lightens the heart. Laughter enlivens the spirit. And as long as we are laughing at the foibles of others (and not ourselves) we find those situations funny. Call it priceless humor.
Look at the great humorists around us. Art Buchwald. George Carlin. Garrison Kiellor. Look at history and the humorists that litter the pages. Moliere. Henry Fielding All of them were storytellers. Priceless humor their brush.
Priceless humor... what makes it priceless? The answer is simple. Priceless humor involves situations which most of us have experienced. The lost keys. The misunderstood comment. The laughable consequences generally follow in quick succession.
You will find lots of priceless humor in urban folktales. Listeners can readily find many humorous circumstances in my CD Parking in Manhattan. These hilarious comedies involve characters everybody can relate to and empathasize with. Priceless humor arises out of priceless situations.
You can also find many examples of priceless humor in world stories. The retelling of such stories never ceases to bring gales of laughter to listeners. Two good examples from my CD Fables in Four Minutes are "Rock Soup" and "Herschel in the Woods" Listen to "The Egg Seller" or "Hickory Dock" from World Full of Stories. These are just a few examples of priceless humor. These stories will stick with you long after you heard them. You can find priceless humor and more at www.jaystetzer.com.
I listen to lots of conversations. They are filled with catastrophes and disasters. And the life lessons are generally hidden from view. As a storyteller, my job is to sift through the data and sort out the meaning. Also, I need to inject a bit of humor to make the tale palatable. Priceless humor.
There is priceless humor in virtually every genre. Why? Simple answer number two. We learn best when we are laughing. There is often a lesson to be learned through a story with priceless humor. Priceless humor is... priceless!
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