On The Other Hand

“On the other hand” is a phrase I try to keep in my back pocket, but not on the tip of my tongue. 

I love to go along for the ride with experts, authors, and teachers. I love to “buy in” to whatever the concept is always wanting to take the Improv Toss with a huge “YES. Absolutely right. I agree 100%.”  I do this in the moment. 

There is something magical about going along for the ride with a 100% yes. You get to turn off your critic, your inner combatant, your negative Nancy and just ride the wave to get the experience or the show being offered. The magic doesn’t appear unless you say yes to it. 

(Of course there are signals as to when you turn your ABSOLUTE YES off. Use your judgment as to when it’s not safe to proceed).

Let’s say you have one teacher that says you have to perfect your form to function correctly and the next day another teacher that says function trumps form that is better to be usable than perfect.  This has the possibility of creating cognitive dissonance. This internal argument about who’s right, creates a concept that is wrong.  This could lead to a decision to pick one practice that pits their way against the other.  Perfected Form at the cost of Relaxed Useable Function vs. Relaxed Useable Function at the cost of Perfected Form.

“On the other hand” is a phrase for weaving together paradoxical practices, irreconcilable information, and disparate dynamics. It doesn’t mean that the critical mind has stepped to the forefront, it means that you are starting to make space for two ends of one polarity to exist at once.  This ends rigid binary thinking and starts interwoven thinking and quantum practice.  You get to say YES to the new information and YES to the old.  

By interlacing both teachings into your unique experience you get to have a YAAAASSSS moment.