Electric Satori

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

"Say yes more". It was a simple phrase uttered to Danny Wallace by a stranger on a bus one night. While it would be shrugged off and forgotten by many, Danny Wallace decided to take it seriously. He saw it as a challenge. He made the brave and bizarre commitment to say "yes" not just more, but to everything for an entire year. In doing so he swore to be more open to opportunities. His life went from the boring mundane rut of choosing a night of Coronation Street over fun at the pub to winning 25,000 pounds, becoming an ordained minister, meeting the world's only hypnotic dog, traveling the world, being a minor TV celebratory and more (I haven't finished the book yet). The man poses an interesting question, how different would your life be if you said "Yes" more. I know I might be starting to sound a bit like a stuck record lately, but I just keep getting reminded of this stuff lately and it's been on my mind. Besides, you know what the 'back' button is for...

"I'd started to wonder something... what if, potentially, every single moment I was awake could lead to somewhere wonderful? What if all I had to do was keep my eyes wide open and welcoming? After, all the man on the bus had made me realise that some times those little negatives of daily life don't have to be negatives at all. The crush of the tube, or the bus that doesn't stop for you, or the night club that won't let you in... before, I'd thought of those as self-contained little moments. I'd never really considered that they might be beginnings; that they might lead somewhere; that they might be for the best."

It's like the aikido of life philosophies. A very zen approach. Be open. Go with the flow. Move with the flux of life. Don't resist change. Keep your momentum. It's a bit like that old saying "Where one door closes another door opens." When something seems to go wrong, there is no point banging on a door that is shut, demanding to be let in, especially not when there is the possibility of a backdoor, a side door or even greater doors with more marvellous things lying behind them.

I just realized that the profound synchronicity in my life is even more abundant than I thought. I don't mean to get all new age-ish on you. Occam certainly wouldn't approve of my positing of some intrinsic meaningful order to the universe, when it would be much simpler to say the events are just random and contingent. Maybe I am just inferring connections from completely isolated events. But I don't care. It works for me. My messenger is mysterious, the world is my medium and I'll receive it anyhow - with thanks and gratitude. Namaste.

So these meaningful coincidences... What are they? Here's the sequence of events:

Firstly, I have seen the "Say No to No" ad in two magazines in the space of a week. Then I was told of a book named Yes Man in which a guy says "Yes" to everything for a year. Then that very day I decide to say a silent "yes" to talking with a stranger and have a wonderful discussion I might never have had. I have to write an essay on Nietzsche - the "Yes Man" of philosohy, who asks you to say "yes" to life and become the ubermensch or "superman". Back to the internet, yesterday, where Linda tells me she has just ordered the book. I had just looked it up on the library site and was about to head out to check it out. Now I'm reading about Nietzsche and looking at the cover of Danny Wallace's book. He's wearing a Superman-style "Yes Man" t-shirt. The coincidences are really quite beautiful. It makes you want to sigh a blissful hallelujah.

So my friends, I pose to you a challenge. A sort of interactive meme that you can only fill out as you go. Say "yes" to 5 things you normally would say "no" to. And tell me where it takes you.

Labels: Danny Wallace, meme, Nietzsche, philosophy, Yes Man

posted by Lauren at 6:46 PM -

5 Comments:

At 6:56 AM, Linda said…

I like the challenge, and I will take it up. I will keep you posted!
At 9:27 AM, Lauren said…

Awesome. We have a little sisterhood of Yay-sayers! (as opposed to nay-sayers. lol)
At 1:40 AM, Linda said…

Lol. Yes, the Sisterhood of Yay-sayers. That's awesome. (My book has been shipped! So soon I can read about someone else saying YES!)
At 11:30 AM, Carina said…

I know you and your friends like Flight of the Conchords...have you seen this http://www.hbo.com/conchords/? Looks like they are on american telly now
At 1:59 PM, Lauren said…

Wow. Cool! Thanks for the link.