Yes. Absolutely. If you don’t believe me, you may be suffering more than necessary.

I wrote a whole book on the subject of comedy. Here’s an excerpt:

There’s a cannon on display in a park near my house. Actually, it’s a cannon-shaped object. The barrel is full of concrete. The fuse hole is sealed up. The firing mechanisms are gone. It resembles a cannon, but it’s not artillery anymore. It’s just a decoration.

Your comedy is like that cannon. Your sense of humor is for display purposes only. It doesn’t do what it’s designed to do. Comedy is intended to be a weapon.

The chief purpose of a weapon is combat. Weapons are for engaging and destroying an enemy. Comedy is for engaging and destroying suffering. Laughter is lethal to tragedy. It is the only effective remedy to pain besides drugs and death.

It hurts to have your imperfections exposed. It’s humiliating when your flaws become public knowledge. Humiliation is a disease that is impossible to cure without a sense of humor.

I already told you laughter and suffering are connected. Where there is pain, there is comedy. The sting of embarrassment is a signal that there’s something funny nearby. When you’re suffering, you’re on the brink of laughter.

“So, you’re saying that it’s funny when tragedy strikes?”

No.

No.

No.

No.

Also, no.

And finally, no!

I’m not a comic book villain. I don’t laugh at starving children, beached whales, cancer patients or burn victims. Let me be perfectly clear – suffering is NOT funny.

Tragedy is…well, tragic. I will do everything in my power to ease the suffering that accompanies tragedy. And what is in my power – is comedy.

You’re sick of hearing this, but you forced me to repeat it when you asked that absurd question. I didn’t write the Universal Laws of Laughter. It was not my decision to make pain, humiliation, embarrassment, suffering, and tragedy into critical components of comedy. I can’t change the atomic weight of molecules. I can’t change that it’s funny when flying objects hit people in the crotch.

Instead of complaining about it, I’ve accepted it. I’ve also accepted that fire is hot and water is wet. I don’t put my unprotected skin in fire because it will burn me. I stand under an open umbrella when I don’t want rain to land on me. In other words I conform to the laws of the universe rather than expecting the universe to conform to me. So I keep my weapons in good working order.

The barrel of my comedy isn’t full of concrete. I keep the mechanisms oiled and the powder dry. My sense of humor is ready to fire at any moment. It’s important to keep comedy in fighting condition because life is full of heartache, tragedy, and suffering. When things get nasty, I won’t have time to sharpen my wits.

Laughter makes pain go away, at least for a little while.

Something amazing happens when you laugh at tragedy. LISTEN! I didn’t say laugh at people in tragedy. I said laugh at tragedy.

Excerpt from John Branyan’s book – Life is Hardy Har Hard

Laughter is essential to survival. Believe me. I’m an expert.

You can be an expert too. My book is available for download here. A healthy sense of humor will make your life better. That will make the whole world a better place!

Reading my funny book is much better than moping around the house waiting for life on Earth to go extinct. It’s a digital download so you don’t have to leave quarantine to get it. You will improve society while practicing social distancing.

Get it here: https://johnbranyan.com/book-pre-release/