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.

There are no language barriers when you are smiling.

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

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.

When times get tough, at some point, people instinctively know they need to lighten up in order to get through it.

When we are dealing with death we are constantly being dragged down by the event: Humor diverts our attention and lifts our sagging spirits.

I contend that not only can you laugh at adversity, but it is essential to do so if you are to deal with setbacks without defeat.