The word humor has quite a varied history of meanings. Currently in general society it means something related to lightness of being – good humor, funniness, laughable, enjoyment, and the like. A person of good humor is perceived as someone going-along-with approved pleasantry with those present in the context. There is a good feeling (healthy psychology) about the immediate relationship that may carry over to whatever follows – or may not. Heads of state like to meet together in some social situation, perhaps accompanied by gifts, before dealing with serious matters so to find the best context among them before discussion that can lead to reducing the humor between them. There occurs much smiling and gestures that indicate lightness of being suitable to the human natures of persons who are genuine with one another. Bad attitude (a humor) usually means the absence of humor, and likely indicates a negative human context or something sufficiently controversial to a consideration as to have no lightness (indicating respect) to it. In medieval physiology several fluids of the body were given influence over the character and health of human beings. Out of this balance, or imbalance, of the body’s humors we gained the words sanguine, melancholy, choleric, phlegmatic – words evolving to mean what they have come to mean in our era. We have kept some of the old: There’s bad blood (a humor)between them.
Although this may seem somewhat ephemeral, and much of it emerges from guesses rather than supported evidence from science or some other ordered search for truth, we feel strongly that here are important indications in human life. The indications have gained considerable research efforts. Recent to this writing, a multi-years’ study shows persons under stress, fear, depression and what may be called negative humors are living fewer years than those with fewer or less debilitating tensions. Persons of good humors appear to live longer, on average, than those with low quotients of good humors. The poking about found in centuries past led to odd treatments, but there was an awareness of a problem. George Washington was bled by his doctor in his last illness so to relieve him of the humor of bad blood. It appears to have hastened his death – and may have caused it. The moment, believed to be sensitive, may have been tragic.
There is no doubt in my mind that from the corridors of medical science more evidence will emerge to explain much of the suffering to death caused by ill will and other inner attitudes toward life and nature. To put it another way, nature (including DNA) and humankind (including self-attitudes) builds in some of the negative and affirmative factors in experience that impinge on health and length of life. These discoveries may lead to solutions more dramatic than those found in chemistry’s medicines. As I motor along toward a hundredth birthday in the tenth decade of my life, I have no doubt that my life span has been lengthened partly through the humor of my nature, that has been cultivated by me through the years, and that I interpret to be a gift from God. If that gift is given personal attention it works to achieve its purpose to improve life for the person possessing it, and benefitting those with whom that person relates, in family and for others abroad from the family. Here, we are addressing a major matter in human experience.
The negatives are pernicious, finding early residence in children, perhaps becoming serious so as to lead to murder and suicide. (We are currently experiencing a rash of mass murders across the world that would not occur if persons were better guided to maturity, believed in the affirmative humors for mankind, educated for knowledge, understanding to wisdom, and informed of the spiritual resources for life.) It is necessary that we believe the native formations may not be amendable. There is truth in: heal thyself. Often this means the person needs help, available from humanity and God, but the individual has within self the social, personal, psychological, physical, spiritual resources not only for health, but to achieve a respect for life and achieve its fullness through a calm, humble, patient, tenacious seeking of the truly good life. Life should be lived in a large use of faith that rejects fear, hate, stress, doubt, penury, suspicion, addictions and the long list of negatives that sap life and kills those bound by the ill humors of humankind. The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters but one who has insight draws them out – Proverbs 20:5. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020