I contend that not only can you laugh at adversity, but it is essential to do so if you are to deal with setbacks without defeat.

Humor can help you cope with the unbearable so that you can stay on the bright side of things until the bright side actually comes along.

The lesson adults can learn here is that the world is filled with things for our enjoyment.

Advertisers also know that humor can help bond us to their product.

Laughter can help relieve tension in even the heaviest of matters.

When we can find some humor in our upsets, they no longer seem as large or as important as they once did.

The tragedy of September 11th was so sudden, so enormous, and so horrendous, both in terms of lives lost and global consequences, that this country and the world went into immediate and prolonged shock.

When we are dealing with death we are constantly being dragged down by the event: Humor diverts our attention and lifts our sagging spirits.

When you think about advertisements, it makes sense that they want to hold and retain our attention.

The studies indicate that focusing our attention on someone else, takes our mind off of our own problems. We stay healthier and thereby live longer.

Since the goal of my programs is to show audiences how humor can both help them heal as well as deal with not-so-funny stuff, I decided to discuss the events of the previous week, the pain all of us were feeling, and how humor and some laughter might be beneficial.

Today's business and health care climate may not be pleasant. Cutbacks, pay cuts and layoffs do not make anyone's job easy. But that does not mean that the humor need stop.

Laughing is also good for your respiratory system.

Zen teaches that once we can open up to the inevitability of our demise, we can begin to transform that situation and lighten up about it.

When times get tough, at some point, people instinctively know they need to lighten up in order to get through it.

A little perspective, like a little humor, goes a long way.

Kids can amuse themselves with almost anything.

Humor does not diminish the pain - it makes the space around it get bigger.

It has been said that 80% of what people learn is visual.

Laughter, and the broader category of humor, are key elements in helping us go on with our life after a loss.

Like sheep that get lost nibbling away at the grass because they never look up, we often focus so much on ourselves and our problems that we get lost.

Humor can alter any situation and help us cope at the very instant we are laughing.

Any attempts at humor immediately after September 11th were deemed tasteless.

It is still not clear from this study how laughter can directly help the heart but other studies have shown that laughter is beneficial for every system in the body.

You may not be able to change a situation, but with humor you can change your attitude about it.

While most of us know that we feel better after a good hearty laugh, science, in many cases, is yet to prove why.

And, unlike the earlier bombing on the World Trade Center, a major landmark and symbol of the strength of the financial world was, not just damaged but, totally destroyed.

I contend that not only can you laugh at adversity, but it is essential to do so if you are to deal with setbacks without defeat.

Research has shown that people who volunteer often live longer.

To a child, often the box a toy came in is more appealing than the toy itself.

Now, a recent study from cardiologists at the University of Maryland, has shown that laughter may have a beneficial effect on the heart.

Whether planned or not, humor takes our mind off of our troubles.

Your attitude is like a box of crayons that color your world. Constantly color your picture gray, and your picture will always be bleak. Try adding some bright colors to the picture by including humor, and your picture begins to lighten up.

When you do find humor in trying times, one of the first and most important changes you experience is that you see your perplexing problems in a new way - you suddenly have a new perspective on them.

In looking for humor, keep in mind this guideline: Sometimes it takes a little time to see the humor in your upsets; you may not find something to laugh about immediately.

No matter what has happened, you too have the power to enjoy yourself.

Sometimes it takes ten seconds to see some humor in your dilemmas, sometimes ten years.

Children remind us to treasure the smallest of gifts, even in the most difficult of times.

Throughout history, great leaders have known the power of humor.

Humor expands our limited picture frame and gets us to see more than just our problem.

Humor can be one of our best survival tools.

Zen teaches that if we can open up to the inevitability of our demise, we can begin to transform and lighten up about it.

Your attitude is like a box of crayons that color your world. Constantly color your picture gray and your picture will always be bleak. Try adding some bright colors to the picture by including humor and your picture begins to lighten up.

Our attitudes are the crayons that color our world.

The bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity.

The experience of democracy is like the experience of life itself-always changing, infinite in its variety, sometimes turbulent and all the more valuable for having been tested by adversity.

Nothing is harder to direct than a man in prosperity; nothing more easily managed that one is adversity.

Something called 'the Oklahoma Standard' became known throughout the world. It means resilience in the face of adversity. It means a strength and compassion that will not be defeated.

Three hundred years ago a prisoner condemned to the Tower of London carved on the wall of his cell this sentiment to keep up his spirits during his long imprisonment: 'It is not adversity that kills, but the impatience with which we bear adversity.