Chris Rock Therapy

Ain't gonna lie. It's been a rough few weeks since I got back from Costa Rica. And if you'd told me a few weeks ago that the only thing that would get me through it would be Chris Rock, I probably would have thought you were crazy, but here I am. Let me start from the beginning.

As I said in my last post, I came home from my trip, and a few days later, I had COVID. It hasn't been that bad overall, but it just seems to linger. I think some of that is actually pollen allergies because that's awful right now too, but I came home with these big plans and have yet to be able to implement them. Not only that, but I got behind on everything else. Then my dad got it. He's fine, but he was convinced he was going to die for about the first week, and that was fun to listen to. And on top of all that, I decided to do something way outside my norm, and while the results weren't necessarily bad, they weren't exactly what I was hoping for, and that left me kind of sad and confused for a while. And that's a lot for one short period of time that can rob your energy and optimism, especially when I came home on the highest of highs.

But I'm happy to report that I'm finally feeling almost back to normal, both mentally and physically, and there was no doctor or therapist involved or anything. I simply have Chris Rock to thank.

It all started when I was in Costa Rica. A friend of mine texted me and told me she'd watched his new Netflix special, Selective Outrage. She told me I should watch it when I got home. I tabled that idea and didn't think much more about it until a week or two later when I was in my bed looking for something that would take my mind off my troubles, something that I wouldn't have to think about too much. Something funny.

I love a good stand-up special, but I've watched most of the good ones on Netflix already — Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr, etc., so I decided I'd try the Chris Rock one. The thing is I'm not sure I've ever actually seen any of his stand-up. As a matter of fact, I was looking at his filmography, and I've only seen a few of his movies. I have no idea why this is. He is a couple of decades older than me, and I was not allowed to watch SNL and stuff like that back in the day, but that doesn't seem like reason enough to have never crossed paths with much of his work.

So, I watched Selective Outrage, and I laughed so much that I had to take more cough medicine. I totally forgot about everything that was plaguing me for that hour or so. And the next night, I watched it again. And over the next few nights, I found myself trying to find something else that would put me back in that mindset, but I couldn't. So I searched and decided to try another Chris Rock special from years ago. And then another. And another. And within a few days, I'd watched every single bit of stand-up I could find that he's ever done. I even went on to download his comedy albums on iTunes, and I started watching some of his TV shows and movies.

So, is Chris Rock like some magic kind of medicine that cures everything that ails you, from COVID to heartbreak? Well, I'm no scientist, but I can only share my experiences. The man is a freaking beautiful genius. And I guess a lot of people already knew that. I'm just not sure why it's taken me so long to figure it out, but now I know what to turn to next time I find myself in such a situation.