Rule No.95: Laughing at someone else is an excellent way of learning how to laugh at oneself...

... and questioning what seem to be the absurd beliefs of another group is a good way of recognizing the potential absurdity of many of one's beliefs.

Suze Original and I have this thing we do. You know when you talking and you mess up, like, stumble on a word, or when you get something stuck in your throat and you make a funny noise, you normally try cover it up and the other person would normally pretend they didn't hear it. We call each other out on it and if someone did that to you, you would die of embarrassment but we both end up killing ourselves laughing. Being able to laugh at yourself is awesome and being able to laugh at someone without them getting all up in your face can show a great amount of character from them.

The other day a documentary caught my attention called "Oh my God" by Peter Rodger. "Oh My God" asks people from all walks of life, from celebrities, to the religious, to atheists and the common Man - the question - "What is God?". I think it is a documentary that everyone should watch, no matter what your belief. Without completely ruining it for you, the outcome is this simple. We all want the same thing out of life, no matter what you believe. But it was incredibly interesting how each person sees things differently. We might think that they are absurd in their way of thinking but if you hear them out, you'll find out that it isn't any more absurd than your own thinking.

Lesson here? Learn to laugh at yourself and take out those ear plugs. Start listening.

Comments

Rule No.33 - Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day

Okay, rules are back and what a classic one! This quote is by Harry S Truman. He was the 33 rd president of America, historians call him “a controversial president”, the band Chicago wrote a song just for him and he has a commemorative holiday in his name on the 8 th May in Missouri. This is brilliant advise, not in the literal sense, well, that too, but if you having a seriously bad day, don’t make things worse by deliberately doing something that will bite you in the bum later. I did this the other day, so I am talking out of experience here. I went into a situation and then on the way out, after realising it was a bad situation, I kicked a fresh turd cause I was so mad. (again, not literally, although, that might have been a better idea in hindsight) My advise in this circumstance is to stay indoors that day until you have calmed yourself down. I’ll leave you with another quote from Truman : A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities and an optimist is one who ...

Rule No.59 - If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull.

"Bull", meaning nonsense, dates from the 17th century, while the term "bull*&$*" has been used as early as 1915 in American slang , and came into popular usage only during World War II . The word "bull" itself may have derived from the Old French boul meaning "fraud, deceit" (Oxford English Dictionary). The term "horse*&$*" is a near synonym. Worthy of note is the South African English equivalent "bull dust". Few corresponding terms exist in other languages, with the significant exception of German Bockmist , literally "billy-goat *&%*". Funny, Suze Original and I were talking about this the other day. She went for an interview and we were laughing cause we both do the same thing. They ask you a simple question that could be answered in a line or two but we both start elaborating so much trying to make a good impression that what started as "My favorite hobby is... right to.. and that's why I...

Rule No.6 - Don't panic

Panic is a sudden sensation of fear which is so strong as to dominate or prevent reason and logical thinking, replacing it with overwhelming feelings of anxiety and frantic agitation consistent with an animalistic f ight-or-flight reaction. It also rhymes with manic and tannic. Perfect example of when to not panic and then when to start panicking. My very first night in my new flat here in Cape Town, I was woken up by my curtain being opened from the outside. Odd, first of all, because I live on the first floor, and second of all, because there was a man, well boy, suddenly staring at me from my window. A little shocked and confused, but not panicked, I squinted through sleepy eyes and said "hello". He looked at me, a little confused as well and greeted back. Then I asked him what he was up to at my window so early in the morning. "Washing your windows", was his reply. Okay, so it's Monday morning, my first night in this complex, maybe Monday morning is washing...

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