You Should Have To Like Your Life Before You Teach Anyone Anything At All
What’s Stopping You From Giving Up Completely?
I believe patiently enduring the pain of life by sharing it sacrificially with people is our purpose and that process can be summed up in a “paraprosdokian”.
A “paraprosdokian” is the Greek term for “one-liner” and it means “against expectation”. It’s a unit of meaning where the second part of the phrase makes you re-evaluate the meaning of the first, revealing perspective.
Here are 5 one-liners which got me through the week, the stories behind them, and a tag. A tag is an extra line a comedian will add to a joke, sending you further into the new direction you’re now unexpectedly headed. I’ll call this series, “Weekly Wit and Wisdom”. I also love alliteration. I literally love it.
“Paraprosdokians” are how I make sense of this crazy life I live. I hope they help you make sense of yours.
Pain (Life Lessons)
Comedians committing suicide is like a DJ Khaled song:
“Anotha one”
They keep on coming and I want it to stop.
Turns out the hardest thing you can do as a comedian is not kill yourself. Whether it’s drugs, self-loathing, or general self-destructive behavior, many of the greatest clowns to be took their lives at the top of the trapeze, letting go of their handle on life.
Starting out in standup, Jak Knight was the guy, the prom king, the 1st round draft pick, the one, and while I was out in London performing my first solo hour about overcoming suicidal thoughts, Jak Knight killed himself.
That’s right, he stole my bit, that thief!
Well, he finished it. I never committed fully. He was the better comedian.
“Anotha one”
I want it to stop.
+ Patience (Life Lesson Prep)
It’s important to get triggered because you need to find out where you’ve been hiding the bullets. Resentment will kill you.
Comedy was too “triggering”, so I left.
My psychiatrist ended up diagnosing me with imposter syndrome imposter syndrome. That’s where you’ve been given the opportunity to be an imposter but you don’t think you’re good enough to fake being good enough.
Stand-up comedy is like professionally faking being good enough. Right when the audience thinks they’re on the verge of something great, something truly serious, you’re like, pull my finger *fart noise*.
You fake it til you make it, then when you finally make it, and think, “I’m finally good enough,” you realize it’s so much more fun to play make believe.
So take my hand, pull my finger, and let’s go on this journey together *fart noise*.
/People (Life Offering)
When you reach your dreams, you realize your arms are a little bit longer now, just long enough. And your jump is a little bit taller, a little bit higher, just high enough. And you're just a little bit taller, just tall enough. When you reach your dreams you’re just a teensy weensy bit wiser, but you’re wise enough.
My dream since I was 17, watching Demetri Martin’s “If I” on Youtube, thinking about one day becoming a comedian despite my ambitions of medical school, was to do an autobiographical one man show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and three years ago, I did it. In 2021, I premiered the show at the Orlando Fringe Festival, where I sold out 5 out of 7 shows. The next year I was headed to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the mountain I was finally tall enough to reach.
Days before I did my first show in London, Jak Knight shot himself.
“Anotha one”
When you reach your dreams, now that you’re just a little bit taller, a little bit stronger, oh so slightly wiser, you can eat cookies whenever you want and you can devour them because they are undeniably yours. And now, all you have to do is worry about feeling just a little bit, just a teensy weensy bit, just a tad bit too full.
It’s important to get triggered, because you need to find out where you’ve been hiding the bullets.
x Purpose (Life Teaching)
Last time I came back to standup, I was coming off the tail end of a year long depressive episode. At one point, I had a personal therapist, a family therapist, a group therapist, and a psychiatrist. I felt like a rapper, because I had this team of people that made sure other people don't mess with me.
Rappers always like, “You don't mess with me and my team.”
I'm like, “You don't mess with me and my self-esteem team. We won't mess you up, but we will talk about you later confidentially. I won't hurt you, but I will set better boundaries for myself next time.”
^ Perspective (Life Preaching)
At one point I sincerely had the thought, “Maybe I should give up and become a teacher.”
That's an insane thought to have - Maybe I should give up and then tell other people what to do.
Here's a hot take: I think you should have to like your life before you teach anyone anything at all.
My favorite teachers were authentic, passionate, they cared. I don't remember what they taught me. I had this one seventh grade English teacher, at the end of every class if we were well-behaved, we’d play Simon Says.
At the end of every Simon says game, he’d go:
Simon says, “Don't smile.“
Then he'd make silly faces and we’d all break out laughing.
That guy was my English teacher. I still don't know how to read.
But I know how to smile and follow directions, and that’s how I got into UCLA.
I also know how to write. I’m pretty sure he was a failed comedian.
= Paraprosdokian (Life of Prayer)
What if nothing’s funny anymore, because you’ve been built on a false premise?
What if giving up is the way to find the life you like?
What if the life you’ve been living wasn’t authentic in the first place and the only way to like it again is to give up?
I became a substitute teacher.
So I haven’t given up completely yet.
I set a better boundary for myself called Jesus. He wants me to give up my life, so it can finally begin.
He wants me to get triggered so that one by one, we can get rid of all the bullets.
—> Tag (Life Renewal)
This year, I wrote a new show about Jak and all the men I’ve compared myself to, and all the ways I’ve been held hostage by imposter syndrome imposter syndrome.
I just came back from performing that show at the Orlando Fringe, where despite many setbacks I was able to get through performing 8 hours of stand-up comedy. It was a triumph of surrender, and a return to a place I once called home, the stage.
Sheng Wang, a comedian I admire for not only his chill Zen long hair, but his midrange jumper, one whom I play basketball with on Thursdays with a rag tag group of randos at a park in Culver City once told me, “We don’t do this cause we want to, we do this cause we have to.”
I don’t need to make money at this anymore, but I do need it to live. I also need money to live. So it’s with a heavy yet relieved heart that I announce I am cancelling the rest of the tour dates to Winnipeg and Victoria. It’s far too expensive to keep trying to be funny on a false premise. I gotta go back to doing it solo, but it doesn’t mean I’m doing it alone. Jesus is my boundary.
I’m going to focus on coming back home, coming back to the stage, and getting rid of all the bullets. I’m going to do it in the comfort of my own home with my family and those who have supported me. I’m learning I don’t need to go anywhere anymore to prove myself. I just need to come back home.
Turns out working on liking my life is the best way to teach people not to give up on theirs, or at least surrender themself to the one who gives life back.
What’s stopping you from giving up?
The question at the end of Weekly Wit and Wisdom will be answered in another series called “The Paraprosdokianist”. Here’s last weeks:
https://www.ppdkproductions.com/p/week-22-why-i-havent-killed-myself
Where I’ll Hopefully Be Headed This Week:
This week I’ll be launching the event for next house show (probably July 12) where I’ll be performing the new hour I just got done from performing in Orlando. It’s called “Nathanael Mosher is a Winner (Loser?):
Stay up to date here:
Follow PPDK Productions on all social media (mainly Insta and YT) @ppdkproductions and my personal Instagram @nathanmosherisgoodenough to see all the series I’ll be working on
I have a series I’ve been waiting on sharing called “Nathanael Has Thoughts and Prayers”. It’s a daily stream of consciousness vlog ending with a prayer inspired by the morning pages practice of the artist’s way. I’ve been performing standup the same way where it’s completely freestyled. It’s going okay.
Subscribe to get weekly updates, and eventually the paid will have some exclusive perks, for now everything’s free until I figure that out.
If you want to watch every series I’ll be putting out, go to ppdkproductions.com. It’ll be the one stop shop for everything “Paraprosdokianist”
Sincerely Yours,
The Paraprosdokianist
"Paraprosdokian + journalist" = "Paraprosdokianist" Or: one who pens journalistic columns of paraprosdokians. Paraprosdokian: Greek for "against expectation" a rhetorical device in which the second part of the phrase makes you re-evaluate the meaning of the first, otherwise known as a one-liner turn of phrase joke lyric proverb parable quote wise saying piece of life itself summarized in the shortest unit of story resulting in: one's expectations being upheld, subverted, affording one a renewed perspective and sense of compassion
Let all of My Story be used for His Glory/ Let all of My Pain be used for His Purpose/ Let all of my Name be used for His Fame/ Let all of my Work be Turned into Worship