During the snow and ice storm last week:
My husband wasn’t able to get home from work for five days.
I needed to walk our dog, but was having trouble navigating the ice and snow (I have a physical disability that makes it tricky).
I hurt my back trying to walk the dog.
Our dog ran away and I couldn’t go after him (snow and ice).
Our power went out and the electric company said it would be days before we got it back.
In improvisational theatre, there’s a principle called, “Yes, and…” It means that you accept the current reality, and then look for opportunities that arise from it. In improv, it might look something like this:
A group of actors is give a situation where they’re all on a bus to an unknown destination.During the discussion that follows, the group realizes yes, no one actually knows where they’re heading and…the bus suddenly stops. In the middle of nowhere. At a dead end.
Yes, it is truly a dead end, and… it’s literally dead! The place is swarming with zombies!
Yes, the weaponless group is surrounded by zombies, so one guy throws his iPod at them. It gets turned on and…turns out the zombies are big Grateful Dead fans and just want to dance, not eat brains.
You see how it works?
I’ve realized that “Yes, and…” can help when it comes to real-life situations, too. When I think, “yes, and,” I look for opportunities, and accept the present reality as just that, present, and likely to change in the near future. For example:
Yes, my husband wasn’t able to get home for five days. And since he works at a hotel, he stayed in a nice room without charge.
Yes, I needed to walk our dog, but was having trouble navigating the ice and snow. And one neighbor came by at exactly the right time to give him a walk, and another hauled her laughing grandkids around on a saucer, tamping down the snow to make a path for me
Yes, I hurt my back trying to walk the dog. And I had pain meds available and the issue resolved itself sooner than usual.
Yes, our dog ran away and I couldn’t go after him. And he came back unhurt (but in big trouble) five minutes later.
Yes, our power went out. And it came back on hours, rather than days, later.
It’s awfully easy to forget the “and,” especially these days. So I’m challenging myself—and you if you’re up for it—to say, “Yes, and…” to life as it is, right now.