And now for something completely different...
Great relationships are built on copious amounts of shared, belly-busting, teary-making laughter. It seems obvious, but the best friends are those you laugh the most with, and I couldn't imagine building a life together with someone I didn't share a sense of humor and daily laughter with.
Recently my wife and I have rediscovered Monty Python. Seeing these grown men act out the silliest, most absurd scenarios with straight-faced commitment is just the comedic balm we didn't know we needed to soothe self-seriousness and burnout. Watching an episode of Flying Circus has become a nightly ritual to remind ourselves that we can always choose to step back and just laugh at everything for a little bit, no matter what curveballs and pratfalls life may have in store.
As writers ourselves we are terribly impressed by the Pythons' clever wordplay, and sheer chutzpah at parodying and making fun of absolutely anyone and anything: the BBC itself, the royalty, priests and religions as in their controversial movie The Life of Brian, about a young man mistaken to be the messiah. Writing comedy is difficult, and this group really pushed the envelope, but somehow pulled it off with panache (well, most of the time, they do have their comparatively uninspired moments, but when they are on a roll they're irresistible). It's no wonder they've become hugely popular and influential!
After watching Monty Python, the world retains a sense of surreal comedic possibility which makes taking anything seriously nearly impossible. It's funny because it's true: anything can in fact happen, and anything can in fact be seen in an absurd, humorous light. Life's difficult enough, what more if we can't even laugh at it all?
(This essay is part of a series of 30 essays.)