I just received word today from my one friend in mainland China that she’s fine, despite the virtual shutdown of the country.  Originally from Wuhan, but more recently shuttling between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, she’s stuck at her parents’ retirement home on the tropical paradise of Hainan Island.  Despite the irony of her situation, however, she mostly expressed concern for her business dealings in Shenzhen, which had all come to a stop during the government imposed holiday extension.  Somehow, I understood.  She once commented to me that she didn’t have a sense of humor.
加油中国!

Likewise, I was a terribly serious person at one time.  Nowadays… not so much, for a number of reasons (though not very seriously):
1) It’s misleading. The perspective results in the mistaken perception that the universe is governed by something serious. And yet, God must have created all of this with an overarching, if inscrutable sense-of-humor.
2) It’s irrelevant. No one else, at least no one in-charge is serious.  Our own government has been described as, “clowns in charge of a circus.”  And a Boeing employee recently revealed that monkeys apparently supervise the clowns.
3) It has no explanatory power. Anyone who has had to apply Quantum Mechanics in any science recognizes that the entire universe has statistically thumbed its nose at us, and all we can do is Ψ.
4) It’s toxic to your body. It causes stress and the release of cortisol, and messes with your immune system. It can even cause your hair to fall out (or to get pulled out).
5) It increases cognitive errors. It breaks focus on important mental tasks by constantly re-introducing worry and doubt, leading to self-consciousness, distraction and mistakes.
6) It’s addictive. It’s seriously habit-forming, and leads to endless repetition of like thoughts, causing an inability to sense other perspectives and to experience pleasure naturally.
7) It squanders time. It distracts attention from reality in much the same way as a smart phone during a vacation. And since it results in nothing, it’s time wasted.
8) It results in passivity. It’s overwhelmingly applied to things over which we have no control, grinding us down to a pessimistic “learned helplessness”, if not depression.
9) It destroys creativity. It’s why most people produce their most innovative works at a young age, while their minds are still unrestrained by pointless worry.

In the pantheon of Japanese gods and goddesses, or “Kami”, the goddess Ame-no-Uzume no Mikoto, or “Uzume”, is known as the guardian goddess of art and dancing, joy, and harmony. In Japanese tradition, Uzume is known for her role in luring the Sun-Goddess, Amaterasu from the cave to which she fled after becoming offended by her brother. This having plunged both the heavens and the earth into darkness, the other gods tried desperately, but in vain, to tempt Amaterasu from the cave.

Uzume, however, having grown weary of the gods’ darkened moods, brought them food and a tub filled with plum wine. And while the other gods ate and drank themselves silly, Uzume hung a polished-jade stone and a bronze mirror from the branches of a tree outside of the cave within which Amaterasu had hidden herself. Then she overturned the now empty tub in front of the intoxicated gods, stood upon it, and began to dance wildly while singing ridiculous songs and tearing off her clothes.

From inside the cave, Amaterasu could hear the roars of laughter from the other gods at this absurd sight, and she decided to see what was causing the commotion. But upon peering from the cave, she saw the beautiful stone lit by her own magnificent reflection in the mirror, and her light was returned to the universe.

Uzume’s dance is celebrated in various Japanese “Kagura Festivals”, which play a solemn role in Shinto tradition. “Sato-Kagura” (“Village Kagura”) are ritualized dances reenacting mythological tales, including the return of the sun. In a less formal Buddhist tradition, however, the “Awa Odori” also embodies this same spirit in massive, public dance festivals.  The Awa Odori character is summed up in the saying, “Fools dance, fools watch. A fool either way, why not dance?”

Uzume, however, is also known as “the Fearless One”, or “The Terrible Female of Heaven”. According to Shinto mythology, when the Grandchild of Heaven was sent to the earth to bring order, it was for this reason that she was sent ahead to confront a huge and terrifying earthly spirit that blocked his way. But upon meeting the creature, Uzume merely bared her breasts and belly, and laughed at it. Overwhelmed by the sheer boldness and absurdity of her behavior, the spirit promised his allegiance without even a fight.

Animals can either fight or flee. Humans, however, have a third option. We can both defend and heal ourselves, and disarm our opponents with… laughter.

—

Image: The Japanese Sun Goddess Amaterasu emerging from a cave. 19th century. Signed: ’Shunsai Toshimasa’ (春斎年昌), title: ’Iwato kagura no kigen’ (岩戸神楽之起顕), my translation as, “The Bared Shinto Dance Near the Rock Door”, from the Wikimedia Commons.

Video: “The Fool’s Training Scene“, A group of local residents practicing for the 2017 Awa Odori in Tokushima.  You can follow Kenji Miyaki’s links in his video to other clips of the dancers performing for the public in traditional clothing.