What’s something that everyone hates to get but loves to give?
Something that brings one person joy and the other sheer misery.
When they say stop you know you can’t (at least I can’t).
Yes, yes. That’s right. The oh so powerful tickling.
Tickling is the inevitable human weakness. It’s what makes us fall to our knees. Our bones go limp and our minds numb. The only thought in our head is "STOP!" We are a tree whose leaves are picked off, no choice or say in the matter. Frozen in time at the mercy of someone else’s finger tips. Our bodies become subjects to another.
But why is it we hate this thing that forces us to be happy? To laugh uncontrollably. It’s free fun. Yet we reject it, we deny ourselves the simple pleasures of laughter. We fight it. We, who fight our happiness, what else is new?
I am someone who enjoys giving a good tickle. When something goes wrong a good tickle is always there to make things better. I often justify the bad with my fingers, even the good.
My friend's mom can often be, in nicer words, a jerk. My way of reasoning is the fact that she wasn’t tickled as a child and that if she had one that would cure her jerkfulness. Or someone who excels in life. They however were tickled plentiful in their lives.
If you know me as a person you know I enjoy bringing joy to others. Some people do charity, others become clowns. I however take my fingers and wiggle them like dancing sausages in the forbidden depths of people armpits. Which a lot of people find pretty gross. It can be. But it’s worth it. Everyone has their thing, that no one likes about them. Mine just happens to be tickling.
One of my favorite past times is having a tickle off with friends. Who can tickle who the most. It can be stressful and intense but every second is worth it. Give it a try. You’ll never realize how much laughter you could exert until then.
I was once at a dance. My first college dance with one of the people I plan to see in my life for a long time and we were having a great time. Everyone's arms were up and the sweat was real but that didn’t stop me from going for the gold. It was sweet temptation at its finest. I was in a sea of guilty pleasures. And finally I found the one. His hands were high and he was without any pit stains. Perfect. I went in for the kill and almost got killed. That taught me to be more aware of where I stick my fingers on strangers. Either way I found something that brings me joy and other people. Even though they say stop sometimes, they real mean thank you for placing this imminent joy in my life. My way of saying you’re welcome is by continuing my civil duty.
Make a day. Go find someone to tickle.