I have this friend who use to always poke people when they were grumpy. She would whip out those pointer fingers like shiny pistols and start jabbing them between your ribs. It always hurt a little, and it made you feel like an ass - but it always got the same reaction: “STOP!”
You would think this was a negative - as it certainly has the opportunity to make a person very aggravated. And if I really look back, her efforts were often rewarded with a harsh quip, or a loud HA-RUMPH and the sound of a teenage girl storming out of a room.
But, perhaps without even knowing it, by taking the hit, by absorbing the blow, she was secretly giving us, her friends, that chance to shed our anger or frustration and be free of its weight on our shoulders.
Because if you distract someone long enough to focus on the ridiculous, will they even be able to stay mad or upset that much longer? Certainly not at whatever was really bothering them.
I might have a cheer-up guru in my midst.
