Make Another Choice

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 It's been a few weeks since I've blogged. I had great intentions of posting once a week but then life happened. There were a couple of weeks when I let depression get to me. Then on a bright note, my daughter and her boyfriend came to visit for a week. I also spent some time away from improv to refocus on my spiritual life. Now I'm back to reflect on these past weeks in the context of improvising. The point that kept popping up in my head was the improv game, "Make Another Choice."

I love Make Another Choice. In this game an improv team is onstage. Any time during the scene, I can hit my "make another choice" bell. You know, the bells you see on counter tops to get a clerk's attention. The team knows that whenever I ding the bell, they have to make another scene choice. For example. Actor A says, "It's a bear, Run!" Actor B replies, "What will be do?" (DING) "Oh, its just a cub, don't worry." (DING) Actor B, "Let me spray him with my bear repellent I bought at the camp store." 

What make another choice does is force the actor to get out of her or his head. Usually by the third try, the improviser comes forth with their simplest, most straightforward, and usually, best idea. This past month I had to decide to "make another choice" when it came to my attitude. I could stay in my funk and do nothing, or I could ding the bell and make another choice. The choice I made was to put aside the work and focus on my spirituality. I read scripture, I picked up a book by Richard Rohr, and listed to a podcasts that fed my soul. After a couple of weeks, I rang the bell again and made the choice to go back to work but this time with more balance. With retirement and then the pandemic closing the churches, I found I went from full involvement with God and church to zero. I prayed, but the structure was gone. And with the structure, my tether. 

This goes back to a previous blog on making mistakes. When you slip or take a wrong turn, don't sweat it. Make another choice and move on. Reconnect with your team. Listen, make connections and it will all come around. You might even try getting a little bell for your desk or your prayer station. If you feel stuck, give it a ding. It might be just what you need to get the juices flowing and make another choice. 

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