Purim is a silly, festive, rambunctious holiday centered on a story full of dire situations, including death and potential genocide. Sometimes the best way to find courage in the face of the horrors of the world is to look for and celebrate the absurd, even if it means eating a cookie in the shape of the villain’s hat.
How have silliness and humor helped you to face hardship?
Laughing at oneself can give a person relief from frustration. Sometimes I find myself laughing out loud and talking to myself about ways I’ve tried to face a hardship. It helps to actually hear yourself laugh it off. Being a bit bolder, it’s sometimes possible for me to relate the hardship and the disappointment to some of my friends and if they can, they’ll join in the absurdity of it all. After this, if it’s necessary, one needs to get down to business and try to choose a response and then move onward.
I remember a time just shortly after my dad passed away from cancer. My mom received a letter from friends we knew from vacation telling how the husband was also dying of cancer when they got the news about my dad. My mom was crying very hard while reading this letter. Very shortly after that, we were watching the latest episode of Seinfeld when she burst out laughing about something silly George did. I realized that comedy really helps people when they are depressed. I personally think it may be a higher art form than drama.
I don’t know anything about Purim so I have no context for understanding what is silly sbout it. there are things that I do that might be described as silly, but I wou be offended if a stranger used that term about me. silly is not descriptive it is judgemental. I found it very distracting this morning.; nowI’m going to read about Purim instead of reflecting on my own behavior.
I’m feeling sad that my first post is a critical one but I feel a responsibility to say that using the word “silly”, which means “weak-minded or lacking good sense; stupid or foolish”, is itself silly. I feel confident that this message was unintentional and an editing oversight, and that a review of the process for preparing Daily Compass content will prevent future mishaps. Meanwhile, sincere thanks for previous messages that have been clear minded, thought provoking and inspiring, and I confidently look forward to more of those.
I read Wikitionary’s entry on “silly” and was surprised to see that almost all of its definitions are indeed negative. I always though it meant lighthearted, playful, and/or absurd, especially in a humorous way. I was comfortable using that term to describe some of the things I do and some of the adorable things my dog does. Perhaps I should switch to a different term. In context of the rest of this entry, I’m guessing the writer made a similar mistake.
Comedy is truly one of the forms of aesthetic expression; it is almost the exact opposite of tragedy. Both have been used by authors, graphic artists, musicians and other creative people to highlight a mood that is part of the human condition. The surprise of unexpected comedy is what gives it the value that it has for us. It should not be confused with sarcasm, however.
Ah, the dictionary and how to manipulate words. The dictionary that I consulted state the original meaning of silly was “happy” and only later on came to mean “ignorant or foolish”. With the flexibility of meaning, I say “silly” in the Daily Compass post harks back to happy and can be stretched to fun. Let us laugh together!