Seriously time to take things a little less seriously

I have been accused many times of not taking supposedly serious things not seriously at all, or not seriously enough.

I blame a society that expects increasing solemnity with age. According to these unwritten rules people are supposed to become more planted and mirthless as they age.

It seems that levity becomes conditional as you age; apparently after a certain age, you can only joke among old friends (who are as old as you are), you can joke with little children (who are closely related), you can joke with the spouse (but only on Tuesdays... and then only if it isn't raining), you can joke with the help (if you fancy a illicit hanky panky)... the rules are so bizarre that you'd think I was making this up!


What's more, the “certain age” is conditional on economic and social standings and the rotation of Jupiter in accordance with Uranus (and Mars, but only every 3rd leap year that doesn't end with a '2').

The rules are so unforgiving that its safer to just grouch up and let those ear hairs sprout.

Had society written down the rules it would probably state with irrevocable certainty that life with levity must end at any or all these birthday milestones: 33, 41, 49, 53, 64, 67, 68, 76, 81, 88, 92, 98, and 102. When someone hits these ages, society looks at them different and expects certain changes in behaviour and no change is frowned upon.

And should any person commit to levity in the years not mentioned in the list above, the act is delegated to immaturity, mid-life crisis, idiocy, or upright senility – dependent solely on the age period.

Like I said the rules are very strict and unforgiving. Thus I am destined to be labeled 'immature', 'suffering a mid-life crisis', 'an idiot', and 'senile' as I age.

You'd think that taking life seriously would be a good thing and a sign of maturity and balance. Think again.

I read online that a 46-year-old father of three has admitted to court officials that he attacked a teenage boy who killed off his "Call of Duty: Black Ops" character.

While this 'mature' man regrets storming over to the boy's home and grabbing him by the throat for 'murdering' his avatar in the online game, he explained that it was not out of 'malice'.

Supposedly the two were playing the online game over the internet and were using microphones to talk. The 13-year old not only killed his character but allegedly also called him a name, which set him off.

Thankfully the boy's mother was around to rescue her son. The boy suffered some minor scratches but no actual physical harm. I suspect that he has also lost his appetite for the game or has sworn off violence completely.

Thankfully the man is 46, so his actions will be deemed by society as 'immature,' attributable to a 'mid-life' crisis, or simply 'idiotic.' My guess is that he fits all three of the labels very well.

But having said that, may I humbly point out that the core trigger for his actions was the fact that he obviously takes things far too seriously.