I’m very excited to vote tomorrow.
I’m excited and stressed.
I’m excited and stressed and terrified.
But mostly excited.
I have my voting plan, and I also have my election night plan. I’ll be spending election night at improv rehearsal; more specifically, at ComedySportz Philly. Partly as a distraction, partly to escape what will undoubtedly be rampant stress eating and drinking, but mostly because it is the secret sauce of it all. And it hinges on two words: Yes, and.
Let me first acknowledge the desire to roll your eyes and bring up the countless gifs of jokes at its expense. I acknowledge the perceived cliche of those two words. And I still put that secret sauce on everything.
At its root it means to accept the reality given to you and take the next step. So let's take it in parts.
Yes-Accepting the reality given to you. In order to accept that reality, you first need to acknowledge it. Not deny it. Not spin it. Not twist it to suit your preferred narrative. You must acknowledge it. And, even in improv, the reality of the moment is not always unicorns and puppies; sometimes it is a hot mess. It is never perfect. It is never perfect because reality is built by the humans who walk through it, and humans are miraculously imperfect. So there is no perfect reality; no perfect person, or candidate, or choice. But there is the promise of a more perfect reality. That is where the and comes in.
The and is what you bring to the next step. The and is the first step through the hot mess.
It is how you take the next step that often determines the length of your stay in said hot mess. The and is the choice you make, which springs from all that you are, know, feel and aspire to. It is the hope and trust you bring to the next step. The and is the best offer you can make for the people who are improvising with you every moment of every day. The and is not just about you getting out of the hot mess, it’s about extending a hand to find a way out of the hot mess together.
And that is why those words are the secret sauce. And that is why I am spending election night at improv rehearsal…after I vote for Kamala.
And no matter what happens, I got your back.
