The funniest comedians are those who are able to make fun of daily life.
They find the nuances in our own behavior, the contradictions that are part of being human, and they drag them out into the open in a way that causes us to laugh.
Louis C.K. is one of the most brilliant comedians alive today, and much of his material, although packaged in vulgar language and coarse concepts, is actually very deep.
In this video, Louis C.K. talks about ideas that have resonated with me for a long time – but he says it better than I ever could. (Beware the fact that he’s his usual coarse and abrasive self with some beeped-out language)
Here’s a summary of his key points:
- Life is full of sadness, pain and suffering – much of which stems from within ourselves, not from the circumstances in our life – and our default approach is to avoid this at all costs. We’ll do this even if it continues to cause further pain to ourselves and others – even if this ruins.
- This often results in a search for distractions in our daily lives. Technology has made it easier to stay distracted – whether via social networks, games, entertainment, or news – but as a result we are essentially cut off with parts of ourselves that we don’t want to face.
- The best way to cope with any emotion, even negative ones, is by experiencing head on – “let it hit you like a truck”. This is a key part of the healing process of Navya meditation. We don’t avoid an emotion, we allow ourselves to experience it fully. You can actually feel a negative emotion change, evolve, and often dissipate when you give it your full attention.
- You need to let yourself feel sad if you want to feel happy. If you numb yourself from negative emotions, you won’t be able to experience positive ones as well. “You never feel completely sad or completely happy,” because you’re forced to distance yourself from your emotions as a whole – it’s impossible to disconnect from only parts of your emotions.
[Another example of this is people who cut themselves off from meaningful relationships for fear of getting hurt again. They may avoid getting hurt, but they won’t be able to fully experience the positivity of a healthy relationship either.]
So go ahead.
Crank up Bruce Springsteen’s Jungeland that Louis mentions in his video and experience life head on!
