As my 30th birthday nears, I find myself immersed in deep self-reflection, especially about the future. I’ve spent so much of my twenties planting seeds that it’s been rewarding to finally begin to reap the harvest of my former activities. As they say in agricultural circles, especially out here in Montana, it’s been a good year!

Still, I won’t lie and say that I’m *not* actively thinking about the next phase of my life because I am. I’ve been asking myself what’s worth knowing for much of the past few months. As one of my former professors once said, “You’ve got to ruminate on it…really chew it up and digest the question in order to come to any true conclusions!”

Lately, I’ve come to the conclusion that humor is not only worth knowing, but entirely necessary! I want to get really chummy with it. I want laughter pealing in my soul, and I’m getting there! Spontaneous giggles, stupid jokes and the ability to tell them…random smiles about nothing in particular, laughing at other people’s funny laughs and mannerisms, etc… This is the stuff of life, methinks.

I don’t know about you, but I always feel better when I’m laughing.

So, dear reader, my advice to you is to know laughter! Whether it’s a guffaw, giggle, side splitting belly laugh or snort. Do it. Find it. Cultivate it. Have a ready joke handy, even if it’s crummy! Chances are you’ll at least elicit groans tinged with smiles! Surround yourself with funny folk. Life seems better somehow when you do.

And, at this stage in the game, why not?