Which is Your Sense of Humor?
These are such difficult times, and it’s so important to find ways to be kind to each other.
I’ve found that the most direct route to kindness and compassion is to get a better understanding of where a person is coming from, why they have the personality traits they do.
When we can discover the “why” in someone’s feelings, beliefs and behavior, it can remove all barriers between us.
Even their little traits can give us valuable insights that can help us accept them for who they are inside.
For example, each of the 5 Element personality types of Chinese medicine will have a different kind of sense of humor and sometimes they don’t realize how it comes across to other people.
Take a look at each of the 5 types and see if you can discover which is closest to your sense of humor!
Wood Element Personality Type
These types of people are the most likely to have a sarcastic sense of humor, or else they’ll tend to teasingly put down other people.
Why would this be?
Chinese medicine is based on thousands of years of studying nature, and there are nature images that can help us understand each personality type.
One nature image for Wood Element is the season of spring, when the plants break through the soil, with a strong drive toward their goal to grow.
In Wood people, that can create a tendency toward competitiveness.
This can help us understand the energy behind a Wood person’s sense of humor.
They’re not intentionally trying to be mean – It’s a natural urge to win, to come out on top. It’s kind of equivalent to “trash talk” in sports.
But too often it creates a situation where it looks to others like they’re teasing someone to make them look like a “loser.”
If a Wood person teases another Wood person, they’d perk up, see it like a game, and tease right back!
So it can be a surprise to a Wood person when their teasing a different personality type hurts their feelings.
Then the Wood person feels blamed, which is one of the most difficult things for a Wood type to deal with. So then BOTH people are upset!
So already we can see why it can be so helpful to understand what’s really going on with someone’s behavior, even in minor everyday interactions.
Earth Element Personality Type
Earth people aren’t the ones who tell “jokes” – In fact, if they try to tell a joke, they often find they can’t quite remember the punchline!
The energy of Earth is best understood as “Mother” energy, and when we think about a proverbial mother, we see her world revolves around home, family and relationships.
These are the things Earth people care about the most.
Earth people are sentimental and nostalgic – They love to reminisce about happy memories from the past, usually involving family and friends.
An Earth person’s sense of humor will often be about something funny that happened with family or friends in the past.
“Remember the time Mom dropped the Thanksgiving turkey?” “Remember when Dad tried to scare us on Halloween?”
And they’ll be shaking with laughter at the memory.
Other 5 Element personality types can have a hard time understanding why these things are so amusing!
Metal Element Personality Type
The nature image for Metal Element is air or the sky, and that means Metal people have an expansive awareness; they can see more aspects of a situation than other types of people.
This often shows in their ability to spot tiny details that are wrong, such as a typo in a document, or a picture slightly crooked on the wall.
The sky is up high and that also means that Metal people live up in their heads and tend to be extremely analytical.
In Chinese medicine, each Element also has a “climate” associated with it, and for Metal, the climate is described as “dry.”
Put this all together and in terms of a sense of humor, Metal people tend to have a dry wit, very intellectual and subtle, so you really have to be paying attention to get the joke.
Metal people often have the experience that a joke they’ve just made has gone over people’s heads!
Water Element Personality Type
One nature image for Water Element is the season of winter, when plant life has retreated underground and animals are hibernating out of sight.
In terms of a Water personality, this means that there’s always a lot going on under the surface with them that you can’t see.
Winter is quiet and still, and Water people also tend to be quiet, using as few words to communicate as possible.
They’re also very observant, and often watch silently from the sidelines in a conversation rather than join in and chatter away.
The climate for Water Element is “cold,” and others can perceive Water people as cool or aloof, not really interested in being part of the group.
In terms of humor, this often plays out as Water people having a sly sense of humor, in just a few words getting across a brilliant joke, or a short, to-the-point comment that makes others think, “Ohhh, that’s cold!” while they’re laughing their heads off.
Fire Element Personality Type
One nature image for Fire is a flickering flame, and in terms of humor, this can often show up in Fire personalities as giggling!
Many Fire people aren’t even aware they giggle as frequently as they do.
Some other personality types find that charming, but some find it really annoying, as if the Fire person can’t take anything seriously!
In fact, Fire people do tend to focus on fun; they have a natural sparkle and come across as friendly and cheerful in any interaction.
In terms of their humor, just as a flame never stays still, they tend to laugh and scatter little jokes throughout every conversation.
But one main problem with Fire types’ humor is that other people can get the wrong idea and think they’re flirting!
Because as Fire people laugh and joke, they can come across as though they’re chatting up the other person instead of just being friendly and having fun with them!
Oh boy, it can be SO helpful to understand how the 5 Element personality types play out in everyday life so we can understand each other and be more kind and accepting!
I’ve researched the spiritual side of Chinese medicine for over 30 years and through literally thousands of private consultations with people, and I’m dedicated to making it easy for everyone to use this ancient wisdom in our modern lives.
Here are TWO easy ways you can learn more:
ONE: I’ve created a free Facebook group where I share stories about the 5 Element personality types and answer your questions, so you can learn more about yourself and others in deep and comprehensive ways.
Click here to go to the group and request membership – It’s totally free!
TWO: My new book not only teaches you about the Five Element personality types – It gives you solutions from the spiritual side of Chinese medicine to solve your problems and create a life that works for you.
There’s so much more I could tell you! I hope you’ll join me in the Five Element Solution Facebook Group to learn more!