#34 Collect jokes

Exactly when you thought laughter was the least likely thing to strike you today, I'm going to give you a little challenge. Today's pain free tip is to start collecting jokes.

Dr. Morreall at humorworks explains that:

• Physically and mentally, humor is the opposite of stress. Laughter lowers blood pressure, increases blood circulation, reduces muscle tension and pain, and boosts the immune system.
• Humor fosters mental flexibility, blocking negative emotions and allowing us to think our way through problems instead of feeling our way through them. It makes us more creative and better at coping with change.

Sounds pretty good, huh?

Humor increases our quality of life and improves our relationships, but just like any other capacity, it needs to be practiced. What better way than to start collecting jokes and spreading the fun? My father is notorious for sending out massive amounts of emails with witty jokes and pictures, sometimes several times a day. When I'm in my painful little bubble, filled with stress and worry, I can get rather annoyed at all these big emails crowding my inbox...

Then I take a look, and more often than not, I have a laugh... sometimes I even forget I am in pain.

So. This blog post is going to have a follow up further down the line...but for today:

1. Open a new word document
2. Sort through your inbox and find the very best jokes you have received
3. Drag and drop or cut and paste them into your word document
4. Save document under "my very own comic relief" or some other nice name...
5. Lean back, read and laugh

Here are a few links to get you started:
http://www.funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/183251/compilation/
http://funnyanimalpictures.net/
http://www.101funjokes.com/top_ten_lists.htm

Or some slightly weirder humor: the comic Axecop, written by a five year old, drawn by his 29 year old brother.

Then the nerdy humor (gotta love those nerds) XKCD  and just a very small Darth Vader pun... (can't help myself...)

If you're interested in this topic, check out this audiobook by Dr. Bernie Siegel about Humor and Healing, which can also be bought on iTunes music store.
 
PS: And this is a special challenge to my Dad: Paps, if you start a blog with a collection of your very best jokes and funny pictures, we can all share in the fun;)