SOAPBOX - Keith Jackson, from Barrowford, argues that we all need a bit more humour in our lives.

I THINK we all believe that, in life, comedy and tragedy are never far apart. Unfortunately, the pace of life has quickened so much stress is now a central feature.

It occupies our every move, increasing the risk of suffering and reducing our opportunities for fun. Individually we have bit parts in a game of tension where time and cost-effectiveness are all that matter and humour has little part to play.

The old British character displayed control and wit. Stress and seriousness were removed, released - nay, destroyed - by the informal quick quip, the practical joke or the satirical gibe. People believed that he/she who laughs, lasts. Mirth undid logic, with outstanding results. Medicinal outcomes followed and supported the soul.

Now, jocularity suggests emotional chaos and a hang-up in the perpetrator. This and the constant fear of being humour's uninformed object, cause a downward spiral of its use. Humour originates in underachievers who apply fun as a disguising strategy. They challenge the real world where stress and productivity are the orders of the day. No time for casual impudence, no place for laughing at ourselves. The penalties are too severe.

Comedy is an unnatural act, anyway, and a sign of weaknes. Witticisms and jesting are too relaxed to sit comfortably in the present rat race. They are things apart, washed-out ideas.

Watch humour on TV and video, read humour in books and magazines, and enjoy it especially in the company of your next-of-kin and close friends where the spirit of friendly discussion and trust might still exist.

Move beyond the home, however, and you meet a very different world where fun is grinding your fellow road-user into the dust, insulting the eccentric and enjoying the misery of others. Aggression and humiliation replace harmless, inoffensive wit: kindness and tolerance give way to indifference and meanness.

All in the cause of a constant sense of time and urgency, expressed through a fanatically competitive drive and organised hostility. But to what effect? Does the queue - at the traffic lights or in the post-office - get shorter?

Do the unconventional start to act in less interesting ways? (Surely, they are at least as bright as the rest of us?) Does it improve one's self-esteem to inflict pain on others? Does the performer ever consider that the only race they are winning is being first in the stress mile? Nervous and mental strain is undoing us.

Stress is a major cause of disease. It reduces the immune system. Eating disorders, sleeping disorders, high blood pressure, heart malfunctions, asthma, arthritis, skin problems, lung diseases, ulcers, headaches - including migraine - and some cancers are linked to stress. We sit on a time bomb, and pay a heavy price for the quality of life we enjoy.

Is stress management the cure? I have my doubts. Yes, relaxation activities, regular exercise, a balanced diet and avoiding time pressures will assist. But these are matters to address whether living in the centre of a city or a crofter's cottage, whether a high executive or a retired road-sweeper.

The current problem is not within the self but the environment. Time drives life and life does not like it.

Humour is a great ally, and an enemy of pressure. It defends us against anxiety and conflict, builds bridges, eases the burden of organised time and accommodates rage. Where there is no sense of humour there is no sense in existing for life boils over in a cauldron of confrontation. Self-deception combines with the denial of reality and Type A Personalities - those most at risk - increase, complete with 'hurry sickness' capsules. The burden becomes unbearable and more tempers fray.

Walking away from the stress we don't want - some is beneficial - might eventually creak our world to a halt and register our dislike. But working alone would have little effect.

More hopeful is the revival of humour. The uninformed should accept that life is not a pressure cabin of pain and competition. Frivolity and acceptance of the lighter side of life must be the rule, not the exception.

The sarcastic and cynical would loose the boot they stuck into the face of fair play, responsibility and respect for humanity. Shaggy-dog stories could return to the supermarket aisles, wit and comedy to across-the-street banter.

Developing the capacity to function effectively and adequately in society must include jovial interaction. Include 'humour time' in schools (I feel support for my beliefs growing, especially among the young!) and nurture our idden abilities to partake in amusement. Throw a spanner in the works of your biological clock. Separate your body machine from that of your watch. Happiness is no friend of time. The options are fun or your funeral.

Building stress acceptance into your system is not the answer. Being unorthodox and light-hearted is. Approach driving through town to work or your wait in the supermarket queue as the slackening of your life, not the tightening.

Life is 9 to 5 against. Relax the odds. Enjoy being alive together with your fellow human beings and rise above the barriers that will always exist. Humour can do that for it loosens the mind and is, like Shakespeare suggested of love and death, a great leveller.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.