What makes you laugh?
What makes me laugh is usually not a joke.
It is more often the comedy of everyday life. A friend once remarked that young people are beautiful, and I think that is true. There is something wonderful about that stage of life. Teenagers and young adults are playfully establishing themselves in the world. They are trying things out, finding their voice, testing their place, and doing it all in full view of one another. There is a lot of joy in that, and a lot that is funny.
Living in community only adds to it. The small absurdities of shared life can be incredibly funny. Much of the laughter does not come from anything planned. It comes from timing, personality, overconfidence, misunderstanding, and the ways people reveal themselves without meaning to. None of it is cruel. It is simply part of being human together.
Animals belong in that same world for me. They are playful, idiosyncratic, and great fun to be around. A small puppy taking on a much larger dog without the slightest sense of fear is funny every time. Animals are often hilarious because they are so completely themselves.
I do enjoy good humour, but not all humour feels equal to me. Much contemporary humour seems crude or offensive, and that has always struck me as cheap. The humour that lasts is usually more perceptive than that. It sees something true. That is part of why I have enjoyed comedians and films that are observant rather than vulgar.
So what makes me laugh? Mostly ordinary life. Young people finding their way. Animals being themselves. The little absurdities that come with sharing life with others. There is enough comedy there already. We do not need to force it.
The Afterword 
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