Going to Denver for the Final Four

Our friends all know that we are SERIOUS women's basketball fans. Here we are decked out in our fan regalia at the CAL game a month ago. Since this day the Cardinal women have continued a winning streak. Two more games lie ahead: the famous Final Four this year in Denver. We face the Baylor women on Sunday night who are undefeated. It should be a glorious game. Go big RED!

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Start anywhere . . .

Where to start?

The fourth maxim of improvising is “Start anywhere.”  I have always seen this instruction as liberating.  If it does not matter where we start then we have no excuse not to get going.  Pronto.  What I’ve realized is that the word anywhere can be daunting.  It may even backfire.  If I can start anywhere then I have the entire field of possibility to consider.  Oh dear.  Instead of helping the improviser to simply jump in and begin the task it may provide a further dilemma.  Too many options may stymy action. 

Perhaps the better instruction is “Start where you are.”  This narrows the field and focuses on what is right in front of you.  It invites you to look around your environment or examine your current thought/preoccupation and begin with that.  Starting where you are requires that you notice where you are physically and mentally.  It takes into account doubt, confusion, bias . . . even the temperature of the room and the fact that you ate too much for lunch.  Start where you are. 

Check it out.  If I asked you to begin writing now answering the question:  “Where are you?”  I am confident that it would get you going.  So start where you are.  But start.