There’s probably nothing less meditative than watching or listening to a stand-up comedian doing jokes about religion, but if it makes you stop and think for a moment, isn’t that a good thing? I saw this clip scrolling through Instagram Reels and it was such a different presentation on past religious experiences/trauma that only someone having shared said religious experiences/trauma might say, “Yeah, that’s about right.” Watching the short clip then led down a rabbit trail of Tomlinson’s other performances and then I remembered that I’d seen a clip of her talking about doing Christian stand-up on Conan O’Brien’s podcast: 

Taylor Tomlinson Was Fired From A Church Gig | Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Like music and art, humor is such an important part of coping with life. There probably isn’t a day when I don’t remember something dumb that I said or did and I have to laugh at my own existence. Oh My God, what a contradictory collection of hope and intelligence and really bad choices! I was never a fan of President Bush, Jr., but when I saw him at a White House Correspondence dinner making fun of himself and some of the things he’s said… there you go, common ground. The man isn’t so deluded that he can’t make fun of himself in public. Similarly, for those who hate on our first Black President, there was a funny commercial, I don’t remember what it was about, but there was a scene with him trying to dunk a large chocolate chip cookie into a glass of milk and the glass is way too small, and he says dejectedly, “Thanks Obama!” Humor, kind of important when things are scary and confusing and the future is far from certain. If you’re in a religion or with an institution or person that is so far up their own bums that they can’t find the humor in their own “imperfections” than maybe it’s time to move on from there to some place more healthy and human. And have a happy Meditative Monday and week.

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