The Limits of Silliness
Everything has limits. Too much? Too little? Too big? Too small?
Last March I posted a bit of silliness, wrote that “silliness is under-rated,” and then suggested in a comment to a follow-up post that many of us who plow the field of self-development take ourselves far too seriously.
For those who might be silliness-challenged or who worry that their silliness-quotient is too high or too low (especially in the self-development field), here are descriptions of the limits.
One limit was expressed by the character Maude in the 1971 film Harold And Maude. Harold is an up-tight rich kid; Maude an elderly free-spirit. She tells him, “Everyone has the right to make an ass out of themselves.”
Another limit was expressed by Wilbert Robinson, who managed the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1914 to 1931. The Dodgers had a pitcher, Clyde Day, who enjoyed celebrating inning-ending strikeouts by flapping his arms and letting out a blaring hog call. Robinson put an end to Day’s histrionics, saying, “A man has no right to be sillier than God intended him to be.”
So there you have it. You have a perfect right to be silly enough to make an ass out of yourself, but you have no right to more silliness than God intended for you.
Does that help?
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Tags: Brooklyn Dodgers, God, Harold And Maude, Silliness, Wilbert Robinson
LOL It sounds about right!
Too fun! Thanks, Dick!
I’m always happy to provide a laugh Antonia (and a bit of silliness as well).
I’m voting for this as one of the most helpful posts of the year.
Thank you Dan. Your vote counts a lot (at least with me).