Author and Jollytologist Allen Klein (yes, jollytologist) knows what personal loss means. He also knows the power of laughter to soften life’s harshest moments of loved ones dying, of illness, sorrow, reversals, misfortunes, distress and, as he says, “all that not-so-funny stuff”. He has made a professional life that centers around giving others the courage to laugh.
He never saw himself as funny, but his wife thought he was. In his wife he had what he calls a humor buddy, and after she died he realized that humor he shared with her got them through the most trying days. Even five or ten seconds of laughter helped them cope; helped them rise above the occasion. He went back to school and got a masters degree in human development and wrote a thesis on the power of humor.
Allen is a man acutely aware of gratitude felt and does not seem to lose sight of the reality of joy hiding behind sorrow. He is an emotionally generous man who seems to be easy with truth and not unsettled by pain rather he knows how to alleviate it. Through his workshops and books, he actually teaches people to be able to laugh when life ranges from bumpy to tragic. Laughter at a time of sorrow does not mean you are laughing at the sorrow itself. Laughter does not eradicate a catastrophe, does not diminish the memory or honor of someone we have lost. But, how often we are afraid to laugh, to see the humor, to let ourselves feel the moments of delight we are entitled to even when we have been hit with a tragedy.
Allen trains people to re-focus. How smart! When people ask, “How can you laugh at a time like this,” Allen has answers. To hear him tell his story and talk about his books on humor is uplifting in its own right. For me, personally, a bonus in listening to Allen is actually the very sound of his voice – soothing, welcoming, a safe place to be and with a light laughter lurking behind every word.
From me to you with love in the air,
Janet
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