Humor can alter any situation and help us cope at the very instant we are laughing.

Since the goal of my programs is to show audiences how humor can both help them heal as well as deal with not-so-funny stuff, I decided to discuss the events of the previous week, the pain all of us were feeling, and how humor and some laughter might be beneficial.

Like sheep that get lost nibbling away at the grass because they never look up, we often focus so much on ourselves and our problems that we get lost.

Today's business and health care climate may not be pleasant. Cutbacks, pay cuts and layoffs do not make anyone's job easy. But that does not mean that the humor need stop.

Humor can be one of our best survival tools.

Humor does not diminish the pain - it makes the space around it get bigger.

Whether planned or not, humor takes our mind off of our troubles.