Humor in Our Mixed Messages

I came across an interesting street scene during this year's Comic-Con International in San Diego: a crowd was gathered around street preachers, cordoned off by a rope barrier, and surrounded by police officers.

What made the setting interesting (besides the police protecting free speech) were the competing messages:

• The preachers were broadcasting messages of sin, debauchery, and that people were going to hell.
• The signs behind the barrier spoke of God's love for but damnation of sinners.
• Competing signs outside the barrier made fun of those behind the barrier.

In some ways the scene was reminiscent of the previous year, with one exception: taking a wider view of the area, I noticed the building behind had an NBC logo and a sign that said "Comedy Starts Here"!

I knew that the NBC advertisement and the street scene were not connected, but the wider perspective allowed a moment of humor to surface.

Mixed Messages: what messages do we take in?
 + Click on image to expand and read the signs +
 (Comic-Con International 2019, San Diego)

I wonder:  how many times do we become so focused on what is in front of us -- maybe becoming too serious or angered by what is happening -- that we don't see a wider view?  Maybe we miss the inconsistencies between our words and actions.  Maybe we don't hear the mixed messages we give.  Or, just maybe, we don't see the lightness or humor in life!

It seems that there are moments when:

• Life happens... and we try to understand or add meaning.
• We try to understand or add meaning... and life happens. 

Mixed Messages: can we find humor in what happens?
(Photo credit: Always Put The Cart Before the Horse, blog by tborash)

People have told me that I am too serious, that I need to lighten up and enjoy life.  I used to get annoyed at these comments.  But, if I take these observations to heart -- that people who care about me have the courage to share what they see -- maybe I can search for the truth in their statements... and decide if I want to change.

Mixed Messages: where are we going?

Sometimes I worry about -- and sometimes, fear -- the road we are traveling down as a society.  Where are we going when we don't listen?  When we decide not to change?  I think this is where my seriousness comes in.

But, I might be able to lighten up if:

• Each of us admitted, "I don't have all the answers"?
• We learned to take a wider perspective in what we saw?
• We allowed curiosity and questions to open us to new possibilities?

What do you think?


May this week bring a touch of humor to your lives!

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

(click on link for website)