meditation
Explanation
The Joke
A meditation instructor explains the benefits of meditation: you learn to slowly quiet your frantic inner monologue, surrender to the present moment, and leave all those negative ideas behind. The student responds by asking why she would want to suppress her constant thoughts about how life is great, how she loves her job, and how she is loved by so many people. The instructor is taken aback. The final panel shows people sitting in meditation on a hillside, and one asks, "Isn't that what everyone's turning about all the time?" to which the response is simply "@#*ch."
The comic plays on the assumption baked into the entire meditation and mindfulness industry: that everyone's inner monologue is a torrent of anxiety, negativity, and self-doubt. The student who genuinely has happy thoughts all the time is a wrench in the whole premise.
The Humor
The joke works because meditation is almost always marketed as a solution to the problem of negative, racing thoughts -- but this framing only works if you assume everyone has those negative thoughts. The student's sunny disposition completely undermines the instructor's pitch. The final panel's profanity-laden reaction from another meditator confirms that yes, most people are indeed plagued by negative thoughts, and someone who isn't is deeply irritating to those who are. It is a sharp observation about how wellness culture assumes universal suffering.