Good humor is key to resisting the blows of life and finding the funny and surprising in people and situations. When we talk about someone who has a "good sense of humor", we often mean that they are capable of laughing not only at situations and others, but also at themselves.
How could a good sense of humor help your family? It is important to keep this in mind to value good humor in life.
A person has a good sense of humor if they have several of these abilities:
- Tell the truth to power: the figure of the joker or jester often overlaps with that of the advisor. If you look at Shakespeare's plays, the 'fool' is often the wisest character who sees the truth of situations and can communicate it to kings and the poor, thanks to the lightness of his approach.
- Dissemination of the conflict: Pranksters and jesters often have an uncanny ability to spread tension and conflict by replacing anger with laughter.
- Entertain others: characters in good spirits are often sought out for their satisfying or distracting company.
As the examples above show, a good sense of humor can give your persona a rare ability to "tell it like it is." without getting in trouble. This is a staple of comedy where comedians often share edgy or controversial views, but get away with it because wit and playfulness soften the edge.
Humor can give your family the means to hold a mirror in front of others, without getting into too much trouble if the other family member doesn't like what they see. People with a sense of humor are also helpful in making difficult or distressing situations and topics easier to navigate and discuss.