A Sense of Humour is a Very Important Quality in a Person

Aristotle and an entire barrage of philosophers have tried to define this trait, but all have failed. What is it about humour that is so hard to define? Humour is a human response to certain situations or anecdotes resulting in a smile or, sometimes, unbridled laughter. The situations, however, can sometimes be so different that no set formula for what tickles the funny bone can be written down in black and white. However, ephemeral as humour may be, there is no doubt that the ability to appreciate it is vital to a person who wants to live a rich and interesting life.

The main importance of a sense of humour is that it prevents a person from feeling bored. At any social gathering, it is to the person who tells jokes and funny stories that the crowd flocks, not a person who continually moans about his job or family life - unless, of course, the moaner can inject some humour into his sob stories. The person with a sense of humour attracts other people with a sense of humour and in trying to amuse his eager listeners, as people possessing a sense of humour usually do, he shows wit, intelligence, vitality and a zest for life.

A sense of humour can also lift a person up from the troubles of everyday life. Any person with a sense of humour is able to laugh at himself and find something funny in the sticky situations he gets into. By laughing at mundane problems, such as accidentally dyeing an entire load of laundry pink or being chased round the block by someone's poodle, he shows that he has, in a way, risen above these problems and, to quote Shakespeare who has a great sense of humour, he was "born in a merry hour."

A sense of humour also prevents people from taking life too seriously and, consequently, from worrying about everything that happens. Needless to say, a person who cannot laugh at life's little ironies - and there are a lot of ironies and worries - will certainly not find life a barrel of chuckles. Once a person has lost his sense of humour, life can become drab.

A sense of humour can also be educationally useful. It allows us to appreciate comedy - not just slapstick and verbal humour, but also black humour and satire which usually have very serious messages to bring across about human nature. By laughing at black comedy or satire in plays, books or movies, we recognise particular traits in ourselves and in our newfound self knowledge, we can change and correct our faults. A person who cannot find humour in the experience probably will not understand the message and, hence, is unable to edify himself.

A negative aspect which comes to mind where a sense of humour is concerned is that a person might be tempted to take everything too lightly, and nothing seriously. A sense of humour is supposed to lighten the burden of life, not let it slip entirely off our shoulders.

A sense of humour is not finding amusement in someone else's misfortunes. It is a human trait which is just the tiniest bit magical because it gives us the ability to laugh at ourselves and to make others laugh as well. A sense of humour is one of the most important traits a person can have. Without it, life loses its fascination and colour, one ceases to enjoy life, loses hope and plods steadily onwards to the grim prospect of a wooden box with his name on it.