I See… Being Naturally Funny

“And again, I exhort you, my brethren, that ye deny not the gifts of God, for they are many;” – Moroni

I’ve decided to follow Moroni’s exhortation and deny no longer the gift I have been blessed with. I’m coming out the closet to reveal that… I am naturally funny.

My natural humor is a gift from God. It is not a learned or acquired talent; I was born this way. In the spirit world, when we all walked through the cafeteria line of possible personality traits and qualities to choose from that would eventually compose our character, the lunch lady slapped an extra heap of humor on my tray (I also received a couple extra helpings of humility, but that’s a story for another blogpost).

Growing up with this gift was a wonderful mystery. The first thing I noticed at a very young age is that a lot of people laughed at me most of the time. Whether I was falling off my bike, falling over my feet in the roller skating rink, or falling out of a tree, they were always laughing. That’s when I realized I didn’t need to tell a joke or pull my sister’s pigtails to be funny; I elicited laughter in the daily churn in my life.

Just to prove my point, take a look at this picture of me as a kid. You’re laughing, right?

People feel funny when they are around me; they feel like laughing; I am naturally funny.

As I grew older, the laughter grew louder, and my natural gift became more visible. Whenever I walked by the gaggle of cute girls at the stake dance, they giggled. Playing sports was another productive outlet for my natural gift. While some athletes inspired others with their best efforts, I made others laugh with mine.

The most important blessing this natural gift brought into my life is my wife. I knew she was someone special because she was quick to notice my gift and laughed at me constantly during our whirlwind courtship. At one point she was so hypnotized under the spell of my natural humor that she would giggle in response to anything that flowed out of my mouth. I would bark words at random: “bananas!” “bagels!” “macaroni!” Every word elicited a sparkling giggle that captured a part of my heart.

I am who I am; I am naturally funny. I don’t have to tell jokes to be funny. I live the joke; my life is joke; I am a joke.

For most of humankind who do not possess this rare gift it is logical to think that laughing AT someone is cruel and embarrassing. However, another blessing of being naturally funny is that you don’t have worry if others are laughing AT you or WITH you; it’s all a part of package. I am confident in my natural talent to inspire laughter and lift another’s burdens.

Last summer on vacation I fell off a horse and hurt my back. For most novice riders, this would qualify as an embarrassing moment never to be discussed again until the movie of their life is replayed on the day of judgment. However, via my natural humor I have retold it a number of times, each time garnishing the narrative with another innocuous detail designed to heighten the sense of deprecation and embarrassment. My sister-in-law clutched her gut in laughter and snorted milk through her nose when I shared my experience, and I’m sure she’s doing it again now while reading this.

Someone is a little happier today because I fell off a horse last year. This is the magic of my gift.