Wisdom From An Unlikely Source

This afternoon, as I was going through paperwork, looking for some needed tax documents, I had the movie, “I Am Chris Farley” playing. When the movie was drawing to a close, one of the actors in the documentary pulled a piece of paper from his wallet which he identified as the Clown’s Prayer and he read it aloud:

As I stumble through this life,
help me to create more laughter than tears,  
dispense more happiness than gloom,
spread more cheer than despair.
Never let me become so indifferent
that I will fail to see the wonder
in the eyes of a child
or the twinkle in the eyes of the aged.
Never let me forget that my total effort
is to cheer people, make them happy
and forget – at least momentarily –
all the unpleasantness in their lives.
And, in my final moment,
may I hear You whisper:
‘When you made My people smile,
you made Me smile.’

Thanks to Jackmac34 on Pixabay

This short poem really resonated with me. Growing up, I was sort of the class clown. In truth, I suppose I still am. Growing up it was because I craved attention. Now it is just that I like to break up monotony with laughter. Perhaps this is why these words really spoke to me.

I like to imagine a world where people spend more time laughing than they do taking themselves and life so seriously. Laughter is not only good medicine, it makes every moment here better.