Creating Meaning

Nothing in life has inherent meaning - if they did, people would experience all things the same way.

Instead, we CREATE meaning.  One coworker may annoy the bejeebers out of us, but someone else might find them endearing (think of The Office - Dwight & Jim vs Dwight & Angela are two very different relationships with the same person).

Once we realize that we create and attach meaning to the things and experiences in our lives, we can turn it around and create whatever meaning is most empowering for us. 

For example - a car cuts us off in traffic.  We might think that the driver is a jerk, raising our blood pressure and adding unwarranted negative energy to our lives. But if we find out they're rushing their pregnant wife to the hospital, we suddenly have compassion and forgive the driver's behavior. 

Why does it matter if we know for certain whether or not an aggressive driver is dealing with a medical emergency?  If we assume the best in all drivers - while keeping a healthy distance from the aggressive ones - our minds will be more at ease, making driving a more pleasurable experience.

Another driving example is when we get stuck in traffic.  We could panic about not getting to where we need to be on time, or we could get upset about how annoying the traffic is.  But when we end up passing a horrific accident, we feel grateful for our lives - the time spent in traffic and the worries of being late no longer seem to matter.  We can go a step further and love the traffic for giving us an opportunity to practice patience and gratitude.

That that's what it means to love what is.

Every challenge is an opportunity.  Every setback is a blessing in disguise.

YOUR IDEAL FUTURE

Imagine that you have a program that simulates your future.  It goes through billions of different pathways for your life to take.  Once it generates the best possible pathway, you discover that in order to get that best life, you have to overcome that major obstacle you are facing right now.

Then you see many more obstacles you must overcome down that best possible pathway for you life.

The program then spits out the worst possible life - and it starts when you avoid the major obstacle you are currently facing.

We all have a choice - to step forward into discomfort and face our challenges, or to step backwards into safety and avoid our challenges. 

It becomes a lot easier to charge ahead when we KNOW that those challenges lead to our best possible life.

MEANING IN IMPROV & ART

Good improvisers are especially skilled in loving what is.  They can take anything that comes their way and use it for the good of the piece.  It's the essence of "yes, and…"

There is no inherent meaning in the information generated.  Someone plays the blues, someone slides across the floor, someone says "that's not a cat!" - the meaning comes from within each performer. 

One could view each of these statements as an attack on our own statement, believing that the other person doesn't value our idea or that they're trying to make us look bad.  OR we could view each of these as an acceptance and integration of our own ideas and that they are trying to make all of the performers look good.  The latter view will lead to a much better improv experience.

Improvisers instantaneously and subconsciously gather information from their fellow improvers and the audience, create meaning relevant to the piece, and respond with something that further reinforces that meaning.  We may not be able to express that meaning in words, but it is felt by everyone in the room.

Great artists transmit their meaning to their audience - or at least they encourage them to feel something.  The notes, gestures, brush strokes and words are imbued with emotional energy and ignite fires within those open to receiving that energy. 

It's not about "getting it" - it's about "receiving it."

Some artists will get upset when the public misinterprets their work.  But this is simply the artist putting negative meaning to the public's reception of their work.  Once the art is out, each observer will create their own meaning.  The artist has done their job well so long as someone in the audience is enriched in some way. 

Some will attach more meaning to our work, some will do the opposite.

So it goes.