Monday, November 28, 2011

Laughing at Murphy


Two approaches to Murphy…

I’m too strong for Murphy. He never comes near me.
Hmmm. You were checking your phone while driving and then ran into the back of a truck? And then the next day your phone stopped working? And then because your phone wasn’t working you missed a job interview? That’s not Murphy? I would have just said Murphy jumped out onto the road.
Not Murphy. Coincidence!
That’s what Murphy is. Coincidental cluster of bad luck. A series of unfortunate events.
Anyway, I’m stronger than Murphy.
You don’t fight Murphy by trying to be stronger than him. You LAUGH at him. That’s why there are Murphy’s Laws. ”Whatever CAN go wrong, WILL go wrong.” You laugh out loud. Murphy HATES that. He runs away and hides. As long as you keep laughing he stays away.
He comes back?
He comes back when you get stressed and stop laughing at life. He loves playing around with serious and stressed-out people.  Easy meat for him. Laughing people aren’t.


_______________
Voice-over
Expressions signifying being in denial:
Superlatives. “I’m too strong…”
A counter explanation: “Not Murphy! Coincidence!”

But laughing at Murphy may also be another kind of denial. He’s unpredictable. “If you predict a Murphy event will happen, it will not.”
...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Murphy Law? Life is unpredictable. As day by day, and time goes by, people like to pay what they like to and don't admit what the bad luck they went through. Murphy Law might turn to a sad ending in one's life, but the joke always welcomes to cheer in one's life. After all, we have to face what we had and change it becomes a good solution, that's the theme how to cope with it.

Barry Natusch said...

Murphy helps distance ourselves from bad luck.

Murphy applies a dose of theory to why some bad luck happened.

Murphy lets us view bad luck events with delicious irony.

Murphy helps us be philosophical when things go wrong.