I knew that attending a taping of Late Night with Stephen Colbert on Nov. 6 would be historic no matter how the election went.
It wasn’t the kind of historic I had hoped for.
Colbert didn’t pretend. He was gutted. Yet he said something that struck me deeply: he couldn’t wait to get to work. “Because, especially at times like this, what do we most want to be?” he asked. “Not alone.”
Around the writers’ table, they first gave themselves permission to feel, to process. But even before their allotted time was up, they were crafting jokes. They were doing what artists have always done: creating light from darkness.
The morning after the election, as I lay in bed doomscrolling, I stopped to ask myself: What could I do? The answer came. I could open up my daily meditation and writing session, A Very Important Meeting, to everyone for a week.
One writer’s response to this announcement caught the essence of what we’re trying to do: “I’m trying to find some light. Thank you for holding up a lamp.”
On any given day, creating art with my fellow writers, leading a meditation, and reciting a poem for everyone is a joy. In the aftermath of the election, it was healing.
That’s exactly what Colbert and his band did for me on Nov. 6. As the saxophone played, I let myself sway despite the heavy dread in my body. I remembered: the point of art is to pass the light.
Whatever is going on in the world, A Very Important Meeting will continue to meet every morning: Monday-Friday at 10 a.m. EST/7 a.m. PST.
We’d love to see you there.
May you find the light and be the light for someone else,
Paulette
