Reflections from My Lanai

Sometimes, you just need a little folly in your life! With so many reasons of late to be sad, frightened, and worried, it is good to take a break to enjoy the company and laughter of friends. We had such a time this week at the church where I work.

When I say folly, I mean lightheartedness, not foolishness. Folly for me is a lack of seriousness, not a lack of prudence. I am reminded of a quotation from St. Bonaventure:

Come, let us give a little time to folly. . . and even on a melancholy day, let us find time for an hour of pleasure.

One of our church staff members (I’ll call her D.) really dislikes the color pink. She never wears pink and avoids anything close to pink when designing our weekly church bulletins. Two other staff members thought it would be fun – and annoy the heck out of D. — if we were all to wear pink on the same day. I thought it would be just three of us – two women and one man – wearing pink.

When I arrived at work, wearing my pink, I discovered that every staff member who was working that day, including our two priests, was wearing pink shirts, ties, or hats! Moreover, someone had decorated D.’s office with all things pink. That included a bottle of Pepto-Bismol lest anyone get sick from all the pink! When D. arrived, she was in momentary shock; then broke up into great peals of laughter. We were not only “pretty in pink”, but also “pretty silly in pink”!

Our time of folly continued with a pizza and salad lunch (thankfully, NOT pink) in the conference room. Most of the time, our conversations are about upcoming events, what to include in the weekly bulletin, which parishioners are in the hospital, prayer groups, and other ministries. But on that day, we talked about things of little consequence – our favorite art and artists, music, and films. We made time for an hour or two of pleasure and folly. It was the best medicine for our worried hearts.

When was the last time you enjoyed some silliness — laughter that was not at the expense of anyone else?