Spirituality is Hilarious

Spirituality is hilarious. In fact, it is the best joke most of us will never quite get. It’s the funniest thing I have yet to encounter, and here is why and how I know: First up, I have to say that I have not always known this. Raised by a priest who became a Wiccan (white witch), I saw a whole lot of ‘serious’ whirling around faith, religion and spirituality. As a child, my dad’s stories of reincarnation or universal energy were fascinating, but scared the life out of me. They ranked up there with ghosts and ghouls in terms of being both wholly interesting but equally irksome.

That said, I was raised knowing and innately feeling there was something more to life. Something that goes on beyond death. But it was not until I was a university student, far removed from any spiritual inclination, that I experienced the funny side. At the time, I was resolutely not following any spiritual path. I was living with a boyfriend, half-heartedly studying and was generally unconcerned with any philosophical matters, other than the ones that were strictly listed on my course curriculum.

And then one night, I went to sleep, as ever. The next morning, I woke up in fits of giggles. More than that, I was hysterical and blissfully happy, because in the time that had passed during the night I was gifted some kind of insight, the details of which were blurry, and still are. But I knew deep inside me that I had seen, or remembered, or been reminded that there is life after death. Not only that there is life after death, but it is not so serious as heaven and hell, it is, in fact, a place I can only really describe as home.

The funny thing about it is, I was also aware that when we get ‘home’, all the worries and fears and petty squabbles will seem just that: small, ridiculous, unreal almost. We will find our former stressed-out selves to be laughable and daft. We will be amazed how much time we spent sweating the small stuff. I woke that day in happy hysterics about just how crazy it all is, crazy that we spend so much time, energy and thought-power on silly stuff. We invent so much drama in our own minds, but that’s all it is, an invention, it means nothing in the great scheme of things.

The thing that creased me up and kept me laughing long after I woke is the fact that it makes so much sense. Why would an almighty-ever-after be concerned with our tiny sins, our mistakes, our meaningless fights?  Why would we, as beautiful immortal souls, hold a grudge, feel negatively or indulge in unforgiveness? The universe absolutely has a sense of humour and so do we, about everything, once we pass on.

The best thing is that we don’t need to be six feet under until we begin to see the error of our straight faced ways. We can begin to crack a smile and dig into our inner selves in the here and now. So next time you are squabbling with your sibling, or tearing your hair out because your boss wound you up, take a deep breath and find the silliness in it. Consider whether you will give two hoots about this relatively minor event in eternity? Damn… Will it even matter in two weeks, two minutes?

Free yourself from the endless persecution that you inflict on your own brain. Choose to stop thinking negatively, and literally transform your brain and your life. Get a little soulful and know, faithfully and truly that life is so much more. Life is hilarious. Life is a joke, a funny, fun, happy joke. What matters most is living well with giggles and love in your heart. Let everything else glide off you and allow yourself mind freedom, making space for the humour that resides in your deep down soul.

I try to live with this knowing in my heart. I try to summon that giggle back when I feel my resolve loosening. Spirituality is hilarious because if we have faith in something more, much more, we can see life as a playground. We can choose to follow our hearts and forget all the silly brain rabble that stunts our progression. We can forgive and be kind and let go of negativity. In doing so we embrace a life of love and laughter. And when we are laughing we can know that our howls of hilarity will go on, for a very, very long time.

You can read more from Alice Grist here, and follow her on Twitter @alicegrist 

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