#yearoflaughter

 Three years ago, I started a tradition by setting an intention in January and proclaiming that year as “Sumi’s Year of…” I started with “Yes” (I did it first, Shonda Rimes!), continued with “Love” and last year I settled on “Hustle.”

So let’s talk about last year. 2016. For many people it was an incredibly challenging year and for me it was no different. I faced physical, mental, and spiritual roadblocks that were incredibly paralyzing and made me question just about every position I had taken in my life personally and professionally. I spent a good deal of the year sequestered in my bedroom with Mouse—he was a good listener and nursemaid—however, when I suggested that we start a book club, he gave me some deep side eye and suggested that maybe I should phone a friend.

And on top of everything else, I could actually hear God laughing at my plans to have a year of hustle. In retrospect, I realized, maybe I should have laughed back.

  Truthfully, I didn’t laugh a lot last year. I grimly listened to news, not finding solace in our political frontlines nor the frontlines all over the world. I kept wondering if things were ever going to get better.

It didn’t help that many of my heroes died last year. The year started with David Bowie and Prince and ended with Carrie Fischer and George Michael. I was sad that a hardworking policy wonk (who killed in a pantsuit by the way) lost a hard fought election. 

I was sad that a few friend that I considered family made the decision to no longer be in my circle.

That was 2016. Now it is 2017. 

My health is on track and I am back to working out, I have started with a couple of rides at SoulCycle a week.

I listen to Bowie, Prince, and George Michael more than ever. I have downloaded all of Carrie Fisher’s delicious books so I can devour her sharp and sassy words throughout the year. No matter what your politics, this President-elect is the stuff that comedies are made of. And as for the friends that are no longer in my life for whatever reasons they chose—well,their departures made room for friends that had been there all along.

If  laughter is indeed the best medicine, then laughter I shall have.  

It was almost a no-brainer to declare this year as the Year of Laughter.

So what does that mean exactly? Am I going to be running around cackling at strangers? Okay I admit I do laugh out loud at the antics I see on the L train, but no, I don’t mean that I will just be laughing randomly when I am feeling blue. I mean that as a mindset, I will work as hard as possible to find the humor in the darkest of moments. And one way I can commit to that in a measurable way is to go back to stand-up comedy! I have already committed to taking a stand-up comedy class at Gotham Comedy Club at the end of the month. I plan on doing one set publicly every month.

And if I can get the video of it, I will post it here but I am hoping that those of you in NYC will come out and see me.

I will also write one post every month about a challenge I face and write about it with humor and levity. These challenges could be about getting back into shape, trying to sell an apartment or training Mouse to stop barking at delivery men.  

I want to share these challenges with you, and I hope you engage with me in the same spirit with which I have presented them--a spirit of humor and levity.

 But I want to be clear, embracing a year of laughter by no way means that I am advocating putting my head in the sand and only focusing on the fun and the funny. In fact, I am suggesting that this year is about taking on challenges with the solid weapon of humor. Consider at Charlie Chaplin:  he was a political assassin and I think we all know his weapon of choice. And he didn’t say a word. I believe humor helps us get our points across and helps to open doors within people that are ordinarily inaccessible.

Laughter is a great equalizer, huanizer and can serve to diffuse almost any precarious situation.