Mar
05
2013

Finding the Joke When Life Isn't Funny

Fighting Stress With Humour

Finding the Joke When Life Isn't Funny

We handle life's difficult moments the best we can, but some "deal" more admirably than others. Three people close to me have all gone through life-altering events in recent days and handled it better than I ever could.

One faces cancer and is fighting it with courage, grace, and humour. I am in awe of her strength and the joyful way she approaches each and every day.

Another is faced with a diagnosis that will change the way he lives his life from now on. But instead of throwing up his arms, he continues to view the future in his usual corny way and is determined to carry on with a smile.

And finally, a third. He faced a frightening medical challenge; a mistake made by the medical profession that nearly cost him his life. He has every right to feel angry. But, he has chosen another path. He is educating others about what happened to him in hopes of sparing them from a similar ordeal. Instead of hurling insults and accusations, he shares jokes (at his expense) and finds the funny in what was anything butt. Not a typo. For his privacy, I won't share the details.

Here's the joke he forwarded to me the other day. The subject matter is directly related to what he went through. Evidence that you can find the humour in any situation, if you only choose to see it.

The Psychiatrist and the Proctologist

Two doctors, a psychiatrist and a proctologist, opened an office in a small town and put up a sign reading: "Dr. Smith and Dr. Jones: Hysterias and Posteriors." The town council was not happy with the sign, so the doctors changed it to read: "Schizoids and Hemorrhoids."

This was not acceptable to the council either, so in an effort to satisfy the council, they changed the sign to: "Catatonics and High Colonics".

No go.

Next, they tried: "Manic Depressives and Anal Retentives."

Thumbs down again.

Then came: "Minds and Behinds."

Still no good.

Another attempt resulted in: "Lost Souls and Butt Holes."

Unacceptable to the city council...again!

So they tried: "Analysis and Anal Cysts."

Not a chance. Too graphic, said the council.

"Nuts and Butts."

Definitely not.

"Freaks and Cheeks."

Shot down again.

"Loons and Moons."

Forget it.

Almost at their wit's end, the doctors finally came up with: "Dr. Smith and Dr. Jones: Odds and Ends."

Everyone loved it.