October 2018

Humor, Dignity Pie, and the Still Small Voice

It is certain that nothing in the world makes man as necessary as love—Goethe

There are three things I want to talk to you about today. Humor, what I call dignity pie, and the still small voice. First, I want to ask you that you listen to this talk for you and not for others. One of the things I’ve noticed is that in provocative talks, people often think--oh, so and so should be hearing this one. So, I challenge you to make so and so you, and if you notice yourself pointing the finger, even if you’re right, bring that finger back to yourself and look within. There is always something there to be found.

The second is that I do not want to give this talk. The small me, who loves a lot of people in this room very much, does not want to give this talk. So I’m dedicating this talk to something more important to me. I’m dedicating it to love.

On a lighter note, let’s start with humor. For those of you who know me, or those of you who have had to suffer sitting near me (or even in the same room as me), you know I love to laugh. My laugh has been described in many ways—my parents thought it was cute, my friends sort of smile, my kids say I sound like a turkey, you get the picture. The fact is, my laugh bursts out of me—and so, while I may have designed it differently myself if I had a hand in its sound design—I guess I regard it as one of the most authentic parts of me. It represents joy for me, because when I am tickled there is this sound that involuntarily bubbles right up out of me. I have no control over it—boom, there it is. My laugh, at its best, represents joy and, really, love.

Read the rest of the talk

Oil Painting, Courtesy of Jane Tracy