Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Much Ado About Metaphors



Laughter is what's enjoyable, until you think about the subject. Humor is the effective use of that certain something we find in metaphors, except utilized with the specific purpose of making someone laugh or otherwise feel good. Typically, comics are drawn for the same reasons. There's something about jokes and comics that cause us to smile when we least expect it.

Sometimes we enjoy comics or jokes just because we enjoy the feelings associated with that moment when we "get it". Other times, we enjoy the initial release of pent up energy we carry around with us when we encounter something ironic or blatantly defiant. There's an instant reaction when we see something funny - we laugh. 

Sure, later, we think about why we laugh, but that's always after the fact. Whatever attracts people to humor and comics, it is most certainly associated with the same experiences inherent in evolution and progress: in taking steps toward that which might make us stumble, looking around, catching our balance, and then, laughing about the whole thing afterwards. 



When I think of metaphors, I get nothing. No true image comes to mind. Then, as if out of nowhere, something signals my brain, evoking that which had not previously existed or perhaps been considered. The generation of the words "like" and "as"  begin whirling around my head like little cartoon bubbles and then suddenly, I've got it! I've served myself another pleasant helping of how things "fit together". 

Comedy, humor, comics, and other artistic creations, intended to make someone feel good, have this in common... a "something from nothing" metaphoric experience from which we gain meaning. 



In short, humor and comics tell us more about metaphor and enjoyment. Most of us enjoy something, be that humor, comics, research, sharing, exploring, or otherwise creating something we associate with an aspect of our being or that which we've encountered or "got" about the many meanings we ascribe to this thing we call "life". 





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