Is Life a Joke?

ninaarora
Jul 30, 2023
3 min read

A few days ago, I performed for the last time with my incredible improv team, Shade Tree. Improv is a style of comedy in which a group of performers make up a play on the spot, based on a suggestion from the audience. Scenes generally start out as normal everyday activities, and then twist and turn into personifications of the absurdity of life.

Coincidently, the suggestion we received this time was dentist, which is also my profession. Becoming a dentist takes years of “serious” work, studying, training, etc. Some of the work we do is important and life-altering. There are also absurdities to the job, just like every other career out there. On stage, we played out various funny situations. A scary dentist who was using power tools, and a dentist who instead of treating teeth, gave advice about how to navigate dating apps. While these were exaggerations, they aren’t so far from the truth about what happens in the life of a dentist. One of the reasons I love improv so much is that it helps us balance the seriousness of our lives with a reminder that much of what we do is silly. Improv comedy is a “life unscripted” concept, which we relate to because truthfully, our entire lives are unscripted.

Even though improv comedy is not rehearsed like a normal play, there are still rules. And they are largely the same guidelines as the Yoga philosophy. Improv teaches us to stay in the moment. We are asked to avoid coming up with a whole story in our head and then trying to get our scene partner to come along. Instead, we are asked to respond to what is happening in front of us so that the scene is built together. We are also taught that we have to accept whatever is happening on stage as true before we can move the scene forward. Most importantly, we must add something to it in order to build a story.

Imagine if we did this in real life. If we stayed present with those around us and built things together. Imagine if we understood as a society, that to create change, we have to first accept what is happening as true, and that we are all responsible for adding something, in order to create the story we want.

If we dig deep into the roots of Yoga philosophy, we learn about the concept of Maya, which teaches us that life is an illusion. Our lives are a sort of “play” that we all participate in (not so different from an improv comedy show). Everything about our lives is temporary, and the ultimate goal is to reunite with the underlying consciousness. It can feel a bit out there, but I take comfort in this way of thinking, realizing that all the chaos around us is simply a temporary state. Even so, we must do our parts, and add to the story.

When we accept that everything is truly temporary, we understand that all we really have is the present moment. It's hard to succeed at staying present if we are sure that success or making it or joy or whatever it is we are looking for, lies in the future.

We build lives, careers, families, and creative endeavors not because there is some magical endpoint in which we’ve “won” but because of all the moments along the way. When we realize this, I believe we are able to engage in our lives more deeply, and with a greater sense of ease. Practicing Yoga is just one way to help us get there. I hope to practice with you soon.

I will be taking a pause from performing Improv as I make room in my schedule to pursue a program to become a full-fledged Ayurveda Practitioner. This post is dedicated to my fellow Trees, whom I will miss dearly.