If the little joys of everyday life can help us survive the big irritants of our lives, they are not alone. Humor is a pretty powerful antidote too.
Published at 5:00 a.m.
Read our file “Small joys, real joys? »
This is at least the opinion or, let’s say, the way of life of Stéphane Dompierre, to whom we already owe two books, or two stylistic exercises, on the question: angry black (2013) et Walking on a LEGO and other reasons to love life (2019), published by QuébecAmérique. For good reason, for more than 10 years now the author, columnist, screenwriter and editor has been trying to laugh at the small, medium and large irritants that come his way.
From elves to printers, from people riding unicycles to ready-made phrases — because when you want, you can, right? — let’s just say that there is no shortage of inspiration. And to hear him explain his approach to us, Stéphane Dompierre is not finished. Expect a third work (why not a series altogether?) on the same theme, because it is far from having covered the subject.
“There are always new potential irritants in my life,” he explains, deadpan on the line. This is my base material! » We don’t know him personally, but his tone, half serious and half laughing, won’t let him out of the interview, while, for our part, we laugh shamelessly. But hey, after all, joy is the goal of exercise, right?
“What I like about this concept is that it feeds itself, I don’t need to sit down, I write down the topics every week! » It follows him “mentally”, as he says, and it seems, to hear him quote one after the other like a rolling fire, and this, from home to work, alone or in society, or… in front of his keyboard !
“The ù on the keyboard,” he illustrates, “it seems to me that there are other characters that we could use more often, right? » When we look in vain for the apostrophe, it is true that this key which, unless I am mistaken, only serves one and only one word can be quite annoying, thank you.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Stéphane Dompierre, author
For me, it relieves my anger. It always puts the situation into perspective – there are more dramatic situations, let’s say – and I very quickly manage to transform it into comic material.
Stéphane Dompierre, author
The same goes for the love in the songs, the midlife crisis (“I had a lot of fun with that”) or, a real-life fact, the elderly person in front of him who monopolizes the ATM by updating…. a bank notebook! “Does a bank notebook still exist? I try to put it into perspective by transforming it into humor. »
Conclusion: “It helps to see the irritants less irritating! It’s not a big drama, after all! »
The importance of putting things into perspective
It must be said that there are more serious subjects which undoubtedly deserve our indignation more.
When we think about the housing crisis, genocides or wars, obviously, risking being hit by an electric scooter is not so serious. Your magic tofu isn’t as magical as you thought? We survive this, let’s say…
Stéphane Dompierre, author
But beyond detachment, does the exercise bring him a certain lightness? Does he feel happier since he laughs at what commonly tends to drive us crazy?
“Quite,” he replies, without the slightest hesitation. Already, when I experience an irritant, I have an external perspective that helps me put things into perspective. […] I managed to gain perspective. »
Note that this decline is not necessarily immediate. Witness this evening at Gémeaux, a few years ago, when a waiter dropped a whole tray of champagne glasses behind Stéphane Dompierre’s back. “That evening, I had a little trouble finding it amusing…”
But in general, that said, “it helps me to have a humorous perspective on my life,” he assures. Isn’t that the goal? Well, within reason, all the same. “I don’t walk around doing the Ferris wheel and whistling either…” We understood that.
