Real friendships begin when two people share a wink and a smile at something mutually perceived as funny. Humor is the fuel of a friendship. Intellectual and spiritual alignments and congruences are also important. But if the funny ain't there, the relationship will have a certain hollowness.
That's why, with rare exceptions, places of worship – churches, synagogues, mosques – are not breeding grounds for friendship. It's all too damn serious. Worshiping or placating some frowning god is not a good environment for the true blending of harmonious souls. Well...it is a good place to experience an inappropriate giggle arising from the diaphragm.
Politics is even worse. Earnestness makes spirits ill. Spirits are light and like to dance on sunbeams ricocheting off the tails of drunken kangaroos.
Philosophy and science and even the elevations of art are not conducive to the forming of deep, subtle spirit-bonds. A good guffaw between friends makes Plato queasy...makes Newton dizzy...makes Monet drop his brush in alarm. “Let's be serious!” they plead. But to no effect. The friends are too busy snickering.
Life is funny. It is absurd. Just being here is a witty thing. The irony of it all contains shades of winking satire.
My friend Yael and I share a lot of interests. But when she hits me with one of her characteristic zingers, all bets are off. Deep stuff can wait. The moment has a transcendent relish to it. I know then that friendship goes way down into the octaves of significance. And things get funny.
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