The world is a pretty crazy place.

Read the newspapers. Watch TV. Surf the internet. Go out and speak to people on the street. Whatever you choose to do, it’s pretty hard to avoid the fact that a lot of things seem pretty messed up at the moment.

I don’t want to spend too much time going into the details. There’s big picture stuff. People bombing people and people shooting people. People being shoved behind bars because they’ve said (or thought) the wrong thing. The richest 1% hoarding more and more wealth while the rest of us get left behind.

There’s smaller scale stuff too. There’s people abusing each other on the roads. There’s the vileness of internet bullying and trolling. There’s the (apparent) decline in our ability to appreciate alternate points of view and conduct civilised conversations.

And looming behind all of these things, there’s the fact that our world is warming up and the climate is changing in ways we seem impotent to deal with.

What do you do about these things? How do you deal with it all?

As for me, I’m a sensitive soul. It’s quite easy for me to be overwhelmed by it all. To feel useless and powerless. To want to hold my head in my hands and burst into tears.

There’s only one thing stopping me. It’s my ability to laugh.

This may seem like an utterly inappropriate response. it may seem like trivialising those issues, or making fun of people who are less fortunate than I am. I try not to look at it that way. I see it more as a way to stay strong and positive. If I let despair get to me, then there’ll never be anything I can do. But if I can maintain a positive attitude, then hope isn’t yet lost. And if I can spread that attitude to others, via my stories, then that’s an even better outcome.

And that’s why, every day I try to make sure I take the time for a good laugh. Maybe I’ll find some instance of craziness or human greed and stupidity in the news that can only be responded to with mirth. Or maybe I’ll just laugh at the sheer absurdity and joy of being alive.

Because, despite what the cliche says, laughter may not be the best medicine, but if I wasn’t able to laugh, I don’t think I’d be able to do anything.