Telling Others What I Needed To Hear

By Jonathan Blake

Story Contains

For three years I hosted a comedy show in Los Angeles titled The Calm Comedy Hour. I would open every show by breathing with the audience and saying, “You are enough.” I didn’t know everyone who was in the room that night but I also knew that didn’t matter because everyone is enough. I also don’t want anyone feeling like they need to be validated before they can take care of themselves which is why I always open with the breath first.


Oftentimes I tell people what I need to hear myself and getting to say and hear, “You are enough” meant so much. I remember the afternoon I was driving to see my Therapist a couple a years ago and the thought came up, Would I ever own a gun? And I thought, “No. I think that would complicate my life unnecessarily.” What was so great about that was if I had been asked that question any other time, I would have said, “No, because I would probably use it on myself.” For my first response to be self preservation and not self annihilation was so great. I had also just recently performed a solo show, “Conversations with Myself: A Eulogy for Old Stories” and one of the stories I was able to let go was believing I was not enough. I told this story to a friend and she told me, It’s like having your feet on the ground for the very first time. There’s a groundedness and a simplicity to that I really appreciate. Just like, “You are enough.”

For three years I hosted a comedy show in Los Angeles titled The Calm Comedy Hour. I would open every show by breathing with the audience and saying, “You are enough.” I didn’t know everyone who was in the room that night but I also knew that didn’t matter because everyone is enough. I also don’t want anyone feeling like they need to be validated before they can take care of themselves which is why I always open with the breath first.


Oftentimes I tell people what I need to hear myself and getting to say and hear, “You are enough” meant so much. I remember the afternoon I was driving to see my Therapist a couple a years ago and the thought came up, Would I ever own a gun? And I thought, “No. I think that would complicate my life unnecessarily.” What was so great about that was if I had been asked that question any other time, I would have said, “No, because I would probably use it on myself.” For my first response to be self preservation and not self annihilation was so great. I had also just recently performed a solo show, “Conversations with Myself: A Eulogy for Old Stories” and one of the stories I was able to let go was believing I was not enough. I told this story to a friend and she told me, It’s like having your feet on the ground for the very first time. There’s a groundedness and a simplicity to that I really appreciate. Just like, “You are enough.”

Jonathan Blake

Jonathan Blake considers himself a gentle absurdist and a mental health enthusiast. He hopes you’re having a great day and that you remember you are enough.

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