In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Too Soon?.”
Randall is running as fast as he can being chased by his friends. He knew he would outrun them. They would not catch him. He turns to look back while still in very fast motion to see how far they were behind. Little did he know that would cost him the race. He ran smack in the middle of a huge oak tree. Wow! That hurt. He thought he would pass out and could feel the bump forming on his forehead. The friends catch up and are bursting with laughter? Funny or not?
Of course the friends are not thinking about the fact that Randall could be seriously hurt. The oak tree is a formidable opponent. Rather than check to make sure he’s alright, the laughter takes over and turns into a tearful, stomach-hurting long moment when Randall feels physical pain and then emotionally hurt because his friends see his mishap as a joke.
Everything is not funny. Sometimes it is necessary to make sure another person is alright after a mishap. I have an experience like this in my past… a long, long time ago. Really. It was not funny. I did understand the giggle box being opened by the incident but to me, it was not funny. I was hurting physically and emotionally. It has been said that we should laugh at the mishaps we experience in life. That taking things too seriously can be very destructive.
Making sure a person is alright before bursting into laughter at a mishap is the point here. And, while life happens and we can certainly laugh at ourselves, timing is everything. Ask any comedian. That said, I think some social media venues have gone to the extreme to make us laugh. Some posts are discouraging, painful, embarrassing. I know people are individuals; one group may find something funny and the other may not. For me everything is not funny.
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