The first time my daughter showed me her creative sense of humor, she was six months old. SIX MONTHS OLD!

I was sitting her up on the bed and trying to get her to hold her arms high enough over her head so I could put a shirt on her.

Just as I was about to get it on her she suddenly fell back on the bed and had a giggle-fest. Six more times she pretended cooperation and repeated the fallback position, and each time I pretended I was fooled again and joined her in the giggling.

Children have a great sense of humor. They just sense… the humor.

In the name of growing up, we might feel obliged to teach them some seriousness, but, for God’s sake, let’s let them teach us some lightness along the way.

Around seven years old Aysia went through a stage, with her own free will and without my encouragement (well, maybe some role modeling here and there), where she would approach friendly looking people at our favorite local health food restaurants and, with my iPad in her hands as if it were a menu, began to initiate conversation.

Acting like a server at the restaurant, she asked them what they would like to eat. First she would tell them about the specials, the YouTubes Over Easy, the Facebook Scramble, the Instagram Cereal with nine instagrams of fiber. She just read my apps and riffed on them, as if they were app-etizers.

She intuitively knew her Shakespeare: All the world’s a stage. Why not ham it up?

I am of the opinion that seriousness is highly overrated, and that when we are in touch with our true nature, we just can’t help but become childlike, lighthearted creative beings with a great sense of humor.

We may not all be clever with word play, or theatrical at restaurants, but each of us at our core is as fun-loving as a dolphin, as mischievous as a monkey. Human nature is naturally playful.

In moments when fear is absent, the Divine Comedy takes center stage, and whether you are in the audience or one of the actors improvising, the purpose of life is to enjoy the play.

Here a pic of Aysia and I seven years ago, doing our thing….

May be an image of 2 people and people sitting

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