Have a Heart

Do you remember decorating shoe boxes in grade school for Valentines Day? It was fun cutting out pink paper and edging the lace to make the old box look fancy. Excitement grew as we wrote our cards and dropped them into the boxes. Bringing home that box with all of the valentines and eating the heart-shaped sugar cookies were part of my elementary school memories.

Of course there is not time for this in school today. I do not believe that valentine design is part of the learning standards. You know that there is certainly not time to waste on frivolous activities. Studying for national and state tests are critically important to “show” that our kids know their stuff.

Too bad the stuff they learn will not include the art of having time for heart-felt learning!

What Is Your Humor Style?

What makes you laugh? Who is your favorite comedian? These are a few of the questions that are involved in the workshop that I will be presenting this coming week called "Your Humor Style is Your Communication Partner".

The topic of humor styles has fascinated me for quite a while. I think most of us are mildly aware of our humor preferences and know that we prefer to be with friends and colleagues who appreciate our unique sense of humor. As part of the workshop this week, we will be actively looking at jokes, cartoons and identifying movies, and situations that we find funny. I will ask participants to think about how they use humor in communicating with others. How can a person enhance their humor practice to include more humor in their relationships?

I invite you to notice what makes you laugh. You might jot down those things that you find especially funny. Try to identify what kind of humor brings out a hearty chuckle. Is it puns, slapstick, stories, exaggeration, jokes, cartoons?

Awareness of our humor style is the first step in our ability to focus on integrating more humor into our communication with colleagues and friends.

As for me, I especially love short quips and quotes! "Remember-My dog can lick anyone!"