A sense of humor is the ability to understand a joke - and that the joke is oneself.
Interpretation
Having a sense of humor means being able to recognize humor, especially at your own expense.
This quote by Clifton Fadiman emphasizes the importance of being able to laugh at oneself, which is a crucial aspect of a healthy sense of humor. It suggests that true humor comes from understanding one's own imperfections and being able to take lightheartedness in situations, which can lead to a more enjoyable life and better connections with others.
In practice
In a speech about resilience, one might say, 'Remember, a sense of humor is the ability to understand a joke - and that the joke is oneself.'
To read in bed is to draw around us invisible, noiseless curtains. Then at last we are in a room of our own and are ready to burrow back, back to that private life of the imagination we all led as a child and to whose secret satisfactions so many of us have mislaid the key.
One measure of friendship consists not in the number of things friends can discuss, but in the number of things they need no longer mention.
Insomnia is a gross feeder. It will nourish itself on any kind of thinking, including thinking about not thinking.
There are two kinds of writers; the great ones who can give you truths, and the lessor ones, who can only give you themselves.
When you reread a classic, you do not see more in the book than you did before; you see more in you than there was before.
A sense of humor is the ability to understand a joke-and that the joke is oneself.
It will be written on my tombstone in very large letters, 'Here lies Hikaru Sulu,' and in very tiny letters, 'aka George Takei.' I don't protest the inevitable.
Harry witnessed Professor McGonagall walking right past Peeves who was determinedly loosening a crystal chandelier and could have sworn he heard her tell the poltergeist out of the corner of her mouth 'It unscrews the other way.
New Rule: This Valentine’s Day Americans must remember that politicians are like a box of chocolates. We bite into them to find out what's on the inside only to discover that Democrats are too often soft and gooey and Republicans are mostly nuts.
Middle-age is when you're sitting at home on a Saturday night and the telephone rings and you hope it isn't for you.
I was the captain of the latent paranoid softball team. We used to play all the neurotics on sunday morning. Nailbiters against the bedwetters, and if you've never seen neurotics play softball, it's really funny. I used to steal second base, and feel guilty and go back.
Getting out of the hospital is a lot like resigning from a book club. You're not out of it until the computer says you're out of it.
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