Inspired by silliness

Whether it's a silly hat you put on your baby's head, a silly face you make at someone, or a silly sound, I am one to ask you to "do it again." I like silliness. It makes me laugh. And laughter is worth repeating.

When was the last time you relished the silly things life has to offer? If you can't recall, it's time to look for the silly in life. It's time to start focusing on that which makes you laugh or smile. If you feel like you've lost your sense of humor because you're just too busy to kid around right now, I have a few words of advice: Busy schmizzy.

That's right. Schmizzy. So what if it's not a word. It pretty much sums up what I think about the word busy. Let there be no such thing as being too busy. "Too busy" to have fun? "Too busy" to relax? "Too busy" to laugh? See how absurd that sounds?

Here's one simple suggestion for what we can do about that:

_What's on your desk? Work, you say? Well, move it aside, just for a second, and grab one of those Post-it pads. Yellow, pink, blue. It doesn't matter. Just grab one. Now, take a pen or pencil (Yes, that's right, no keyboard for this exercise) and draw a doodle. It doesn't matter what it is. Just start drawing. Make sure you fill the entire piece of paper, from corner to corner, edge to edge. Now, pull that Post-it Note from the pad and stick it up on a wall closest to your desk. Make sure you can see it. Do this three more times. You should now have three doodle-filled papers stuck on a wall in front of you. Line them up so that you can see all three. Do you have any star stickers? What?! No star stickers?! If you're not joshing me, then find a different colored pen from the instrument you used to draw your doodles and use that to draw a star on the doodle you think looks the best. Yes, you've just entered your doodles in the B.I.K.E. WITH JACKIE Doodle Contest, and you're the judge. Which doodle is your favorite? Draw or put a star on that one and toss the others away.

Now wasn't that silly? But it was fun, right? I mean, it took your mind off that work you had on your desk. It allowed you to open your thoughts to random ideas. And you played along. It wasn't that difficult to be inspired by silliness. When you get back to work in a second, I'd love to know how that transition went. And when you look up at some point during the day to see your winning doodle, I'd like to know how that makes you feel. Post your comments here.

Silly inspirations

I had dinner with a friend last night, and she invited a coworker to join us. A silly discussion ensued, which left me showing them I can do the Elvis lip curl, that I am ambidextrous--they gave me a napkin to prove it, so I wrote my name with both my left and right hands--and that the guy who was with us spontaneously breaks out in song at work. He prefers Broadway show tunes. Fun, right?

Maybe. But some adults can't do silly. Not at all. If you're one of them, I encourage you to rethink your stance. Here's why:

IT'S FUN TO BE SILLY
I'm a huge fan of silly. I often find myself making up songs and singing them out loud. I like it when people will join me. And I still expect to master riding the unicycle I keep in my office for inspiration. I also would love to learn how to juggle all three of the balls I keep in my Basket O' Fun. So far, I can only juggle two. And would you believe? People still think that's impressive. It's really not. But let's keep that hush-hush. I don't want to spoil their enthusiasm.

IT'S EASY TO BE SILLY
If you were ever wondering what to do with all those trade show giveaways you pick up at conventions, how about doing what I do? Create a Basket O' Fun (mentioned earlier). In mine, you'll find goofy pens and pencils, juggling balls and bags, decks of cards, a hat that lights up if the battery's working, and other toy-like items. If it makes sound, can be played with, or can be used to distract a distressed mind, I keep it in that basket and use it as needed. You can put whatever you want in yours. Maybe you like puzzles and word games. It doesn't matter. You define your Basket O' Fun; it's whatever you think it is.

IT'S CREATIVE
But silly's not just for the office. On a recent trip with my boyfriend, I offered a suggestion on what we could do to make the trip more interesting. He was coming with me on a research trip. I was looking for quirky Arizona sites, and it happened to be on Valentine's Day weekend. So I suggested we could not come home without first finding the other person a quirky gift.

He wound up finding me an ink pen that was carved out of wood. No big deal, right? Well, this one included a shark top and a band of rattlesnake skin below (pictured with other pen/pencil above). The two have nothing whatsoever to do with the other. Very quirky. So he won the gift exchange hands-down. My gift was lame in comparison. We got a good laugh out of the whole hunting expedition, and it did make the trip more memorable.

IT'S A STRESS RELIEVER
If you think about it, being silly is just a way to release pent-up energy. It's a way to de-stress. And it's usually not hurtful to others, though I admit embarrassing family members with my silliness at times.

TRY THIS AT HOME
For your sake, why not see if you can get in touch with your silly side today. It's the child inside of you. Sometimes that little girl or guy just needs to get out and breathe again. So go ahead and try it. Learn how to juggle. Play hopscotch with the kids. Make up a silly poem with words that rhyme only with your first name. After you've done the silly deed, let us know how it goes.