Making people laugh

Making people laugh is a true art form. Unfortunately, I think it's one of those innate qualities you either have or you don't. It's one thing to crack an occasional joke or come up with a spontaneous one liner. Anyone can do that once in awhile. What I'm referring to is someone who is just naturally good at it....someone who can do it easily, on a regular basis, and effortlessly. It's easy to spot a "natural" apart from the person who tries too hard to be funny.

The "natural" is skilled at the delivery, timing, play on words, double entendres, and subtle nuances. It's been my observation that some people can more easily get away with sarcasm (I'm typically not one of them), perhaps due to their overall personality and general style of communicating with others. I've noticed something lately. Of all the people in my personal life I like most (family and friends), they all have one particular quality in common: the ability to convey wit and/or sarcasm effortlessly (and frequently)....aka "naturals."

All these years I have mistakenly believed intelligence to be one of the qualities I admire and prize the most in my personal relationships. While I cannot minimize the importance of intelligence (not to mention kindness), I must fess up and admit I secretly am most drawn to humor. Not only am I drawn to it, lately I find myself envious of those who possess this creative characteristic. Why? I love laughing and I love hearing other people laugh. Appreciating humor in just about anything makes life more amusing and sometimes even more tolerable than it would feel without it. Honestly, I cannot make it a whole day (sometimes I can't even make it through a whole hour) without laughing several times. Laughing is secondary to breathing for me....which is why I wish I had the ability to make others laugh.

I wish I could dish out as much humor as I generously accept from my favorite funny people. I'd give anything for the same people I think are incredibly funny to hold me in equally high esteem...but alas, it's just not in the cards for me. All I can hope for is that maybe there's a quality about me that others wish they had. "I wish I could be as ____ as Katie. She's such a natural at it...."