Director’s Note: In On It

“…the things that happen over which we have no control. The things that sneak up on us. The things that just happen.”
This is the start of the play In On It by Daniel MacIvor. Each time I hear it I am struck by its truth. We all worry about controlling our lives. We struggle to control our emotions, control our addictions, control others, control our children – control all change or changes, really.
We hang onto things so tightly that when the unexpected (life: tragedy, love etc) does sneak up on us, that’s when we lose our control. And when we lose our control, that’s when we finally release ourselves into the present moment. (Perhaps all of this is practice for the ultimate loss of control – the end of our lives.)
As MacIvor says later in the play “I wish I’d said I’m sorry more… I wish I’d said I know less.”
Trying to control everything is a futile exercise. We’ll never master it. It’s when we’re busy trying to control the future that our lives are passing us by. Maybe if we could get to that place of less control and more acceptance sooner, we would actually embrace those life-changing moments, and celebrate all that we are and all that we have. Then we could spend less time trying to control our lives, and more time doing what we want, saying what we mean and really being who we truly are – to ourselves and others.
I believe that it’s when we experience life in the present moment, and we stop trying to control everything that we can fully appreciate the time we have left in our lives; that we can truly celebrate our lives, tell the ones we love (both present and past) how much they’ve helped us grow and how they’ve shaped us, thank our parents for all of their sacrifices, open our hearts to our close friends and share our strength with the children in our lives.
Pass it on, forward, backwards, whatever.
Here’s to letting the unexpected happen.
For one night, at least…
Enjoy.