Are you having a laugh?

“I think you can take something very seriously while also joking about it, and if you can’t do that it’s going to be a very long couple of months” - @ChaseMit

It has been fascinating to watch the reaction this week as like the naughty school children some of us are, we were grounded, sent to our room and told not to come out until we’re told to do so.

Whilst some have of course flouted this and pushed the boundaries – the barbecue attended by 20 people, anyone? – I think it’s fair to say that the majority of us have heeded the government advice and broadly kept ourselves to ourselves. Hugs, handshakes and high fives now replaced with distanced nods, smiles and waves – well, that’s what I received on my safety conscious jog last night anyway…

In between continuing to work, I have been kept steadily amused as I am sure you have by the growing wave of videos, pictures, GIFs and memes that have washed through social media and messaging services reminding us of what “going viral” was previously co-opted to define. 

This kind of activity used to irritate me a lot, but of late they have been a most welcome distraction. I wonder if that’s because they are now universally relevant or because the quality of the messing around has been stepped up? Either way, in the face of something so potentially awful, it is fantastic that a lot of people have retained their sense of humour, because what else can you do? We’ve been stopped in our tracks by something outside of our control. There’s nothing to rail against or fight, we just need to need to sit on our backsides (I was previously led to believe that we were great at this?) and find the lighter side. It is always there, even in the darkest times when it feels like all is lost, some semblance of humour will always be there to help light the path back to the notion of normality. 

Example: 

Information: A deadly, killer virus is on its way which attacks the respiratory system. 
Interpretation: Argh! Our arses are going to explode! Buy all of the toilet roll you can find! 

Come on, that is pretty, bloody funny when you think about it.

To those who are not used to sitting on aforementioned derrieres and in their subsequent boredom have gone onto to produce some fabulously silly content, now being shared the world over and spreading some much-needed mirth: I salute you, please keep ‘em coming. In your own weird and creative little way, you are helping.

Our ability to laugh in the face of adversity and indeed, laugh until we cry is one of the very best things about being, and what makes us, human and hanging on to that is something for which I would fight.